A senior official at the Board of Audit and Inspection accused of a "shoddy, delayed audit" over the transfer of the presidential residence under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration avoided arrest.
According to legal sources on the 19th, Seoul Central District Court warrant judge Lee Jong-rok rejected an arrest warrant after holding a pretrial detention hearing for Son, a current senior official at the Board of Audit and Inspection.
The court explained the rejection by saying, "Given the degree to which the criminal allegations are substantiated, the room for dispute, and the course of the investigation, it is difficult to recognize grounds or necessity for detention."
Son served as the head of the audit team overseeing the transfer of the presidential residence and supervised the work. Son is suspected of fabricating documents during the audit to produce a false report.
Earlier, after being elected, former President Yoon Suk-yeol transferred the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense compound in Yongsan and the residence to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs' official residence.
During the transfer of the residence, interior firm 21 Gram, which lacked construction qualifications, oversaw all the work while fronting Wondam General Construction, which holds a general construction license, to create a veneer of legality, according to the special counsel team.
The special counsel team also believes the Board of Audit and Inspection learned during the audit that 21 Gram handled the work overall but intentionally concealed that fact in the audit report and wrote it as if 21 Gram handled only interior work.
The Board of Audit and Inspection launched an audit in Oct. 2022 after People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and others petitioned for a citizen audit into the residence transfer allegations. More than two years later, in Sep. 2024, it released the "Audit report on alleged illegality in the presidential office and residence transfer and expense use."
In the report, the Board of Audit and Inspection stated that 21 Gram was selected as the residence interior contractor and that 21 Gram asked Wondam General Construction to join the expansion work, leading to the construction. However, it did not specify in detail how 21 Gram was selected as the residence contractor, prompting criticism of a shoddy audit.
21 Gram sponsored exhibitions hosted by Covana Contents, which Kim ran, and handled office design and construction. Kim is known to be close with the spouse of the company's CEO.
Meanwhile, the special counsel team indicted former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and others on charges of illegally diverting government funds during the residence transfer process and is currently investigating whether the Ministry of Planning and Budget (formerly the Ministry of Economy and Finance) was involved.