Accountants and tax accountants braved the cold weather to take to the streets, holding placards and chanting slogans, while also holding a 'truck protest.' The location was in front of the Seoul City Council. The dispute over the task of 'settlement of account for private outsourcing project costs' saw accountants trying to protect their existing domain and tax accountants seeking to establish new business opportunities, manifesting in the form of a show of strength.
According to the police on the 25th, the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA) held a truck protest near the Seoul City Council on 23rd, advocating for the passing of the amendment to the 'Ordinance on Private Outsourcing of Seoul's Administrative Work' in the plenary session. Prior to this, they held a placard protest in front of the City Council on 16th with the same intent. In response, the Korean Association of Certified Tax Accountants held a rally in front of the City Council on 20th, urging not to pass the same ordinance amendment in the plenary session.
The controversial 'Ordinance on Private Outsourcing of Seoul's Administrative Work' is a local government ordinance determining who is responsible for verifying the proper execution of outsourced agency project costs. In May 2019, the Seoul City Council proposed an ordinance amendment changing the name from 'audit' conducted by accountants to 'settlement of account inspection for project costs,' allowing tax accountants to also take on this role, and it passed in the council in December 2021. At that time, the Democratic Party was the majority party in the City Council.
The Financial Services Commission noted that the 'settlement of account inspection for project costs' falls under the exclusive duties of certified public accountants, namely 'accounting audit and certification.' Following this, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon requested the City Council to reconsider the ordinance amendment. When the City Council passed the ordinance as originally proposed in April 2022, the city filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court to invalidate the ordinance.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City Council and the tax accountants. It judged, “It is not necessary for the settlement of account submitted by the entrusted agency to inevitably undergo 'accounting audit and certification' according to the Act on Certified Public Accountants when the head of a local government outsources the work privately.”
This time, the Seoul City Council, with the majority of members from the People Power Party, changed their stance. The City Council prepared a new ordinance amendment to change 'settlement of account inspection for project costs' back to 'audit' in the ordinance scheduled for implementation and was set to propose it in the plenary session on 20th. However, tax accountants gathered in front of the City Council with placards for a rally, stopping the proposal from being presented. Consequently, the Young Certified Public Accountants Association held a truck protest demanding the swift proposal of the ordinance.
Hwang Byeong-chan, president of the Young Certified Public Accountants Association, said, “It is unacceptable that citizens' taxes amounting to 1 trillion won are managed through a simplified inspection that tax accountants can also perform instead of an audit,” expressing concerns over potential widespread corruption. Meanwhile, a representative from the Korean Association of Certified Tax Accountants mentioned, “Private outsourcing institutions receive audits in March, the busiest time for accountants, who don’t properly conduct the audits due to low fees,” adding, “Tax accountants currently conduct settlement of account inspections for outsourcing projects entrusted by local governments.”