On the 31st, it was learned that the Board of Audit and Inspection is pushing to revise the Board of Audit and Inspection Act to abolish policy audits and strengthen guarantees of due process in the audit process.
The Board of Audit and Inspection's authority is divided into accounting inspections and duty inspections. Among them, duty inspections have included not only public officials' misconduct but also the propriety of policy decisions as audit targets, drawing criticism that this has caused passive administration.
Accordingly, in Dec. last year, the Board of Audit and Inspection revised the "Rules on the Processing of Audit Affairs" to add a clause that it would not conduct audits judging the propriety of policy decisions. It said it would not take issue with "fact-finding that formed the basis of a policy decision or the appropriateness of means to achieve policy objectives," and would look only into "illegal or corrupt acts related to policy decisions."
This time, the Board of Audit and Inspection decided to push for a legal revision to add similar content to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act. A legal professional said, "The Board of Audit and Inspection's audit targets are defined in the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, so it is preferable to specify them in law rather than limit them by rule."
The Board of Audit and Inspection also plans to add to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act provisions that strengthen the application of due process during audits. For digital forensics that extracts information from cellphones, computers, and the like, it will include a principle to selectively extract only the necessary information. It will also guarantee the right of counsel to participate during the preparation of written Q&As.
A legal professional with a prosecution background said, "Even though Board of Audit and Inspection audits are actually conducted at the level of prosecution and police investigations, the application of due process has been insufficient, leading to criticism that the rights and interests of audit subjects are not adequately protected."
Along with this, the Board of Audit and Inspection decided to include in the amendment to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act a clause exempting liability when a public official performed duties according to the Board of Audit and Inspection's advice obtained through prior consulting.
The government plans to submit the amendment to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, centered on these elements, to the National Assembly in the second half.