Certified public accountants gathered in front of the Seoul City Council building to hold a picket protest.
According to the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants on the 16th, these certified public accountants urged that the local government ordinance on the partial amendment regarding the private delegation of administrative services in Seoul should be promptly brought before the full committee in connection with the overall meeting of the planning and economy committee to be held on the 17th.
Those gathered in front of the Seoul City Council building held placards that read, "Where tax is used is not a social gathering," "My tax accounting report, earned through blood, sweat, and tears, must be accurate," and "Without restoring accounting audits for private delegation project expenses, it is difficult to prevent leakage of taxpayer money."
They called for the local government ordinance to be presented and reviewed in accordance with the original plan at the planning and economy committee of the Seoul City Council on the 17th. They also emphasized that, in the future, thorough accounting audits should ensure that the expenses for private delegation projects in local governments are managed thoroughly and transparently, and that taxpayers' money should not leak any longer in Seoul and across the nation.
The local government ordinance, scheduled to be presented on the 17th, is aimed at preventing financial leakage in local governments by conducting strict accounting audits on the annual project expenses of 10 trillion won that Seoul has delegated to the private sector.
The problematic part was that the previous 10th Seoul City Council changed the term for the accounting audit of this ordinance to "settlement of account inspection," allowing tax accountants to conduct this work. Following that, controversy grew over whether it was appropriate for tax accountants to carry out this inspection work, leading the 11th Seoul City Council to propose an ordinance amendment in August 2022 to restore the accounting audit.
So far, the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KACPA) has stated that it will pursue legislation to restore the Seoul City ordinance while strengthening the transparency of local government finance in cooperation with related organizations, including the Young Certified Public Accountants and Women Certified Public Accountants, to ensure that private delegation project expenses of local governments are not improperly spent.