A spat gone too far

The Board of Audit and Inspection and the presidential office are clashing over the audit results on the four-river restoration project. The results were released at a time when President Lee Myung-bak had just a month left in his term. The day after the results were announced, Land, Transport, and Maritime Minister Kwon Do-yeop and Environment Minister Yoo Young-sook hastily held a news conference to refute the findings. The head of the Prime Minister`s Office, Yim Jong-ryong, on Wednesday said his office will take the lead in re-examining the audit results. Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Yang Kun expressed displeasure by saying, “If the Prime Minister’s Office investigates this and the board is subject to investigation, this will pose a serious problem.” Though the incumbent administration will soon leave office, mudslinging between the audit agency and the presidential office, as well as among ministries, seems to have gone too far.

The head of the government watchdog is directly appointed by the president, but the organization is an independent entity that does not report to the presidential office. The agency even conducts a financial audit on the presidential office. Ministries can express regret over the audit outcome, but holding a news conference to demand a rebuttal and re-examination is going too far and categorically denies the status of the autonomous government agency. In case of objection, they should ask the auditors to conduct another inspection according to law.

On the audit results that criticized the river restoration, which was President Lee’s core project, the chief executive reportedly expressed his displeasure to Yang, whom the president appointed via the chief presidential secretary. “Ministers refuting the audit outcome and the Prime Minister’s Office attempting to re-examine it significantly undermine the board’s independence. When the Board of Audit and Inspection functions properly, the country can function properly ” said Jeon Yoon-chul, former head of the audit agency."

The Board of Audit and Inspection is partly to blame since it failed to assert its autonomy. The state audit agency should just let its audit results do the talking, not quarrel with ministries. The watchdog is said to have discouraged ministries from refuting before announcing the audit results on the four-river project. If this is true, the auditing would have significantly undermined its status and authority itself. A high-ranking official at the agency reportedly said, “If power had changed (from the conservative to the liberal camp), the audit outcome could`ve been much more critical. Even ministers could have been sent for questioning by prosecutors.” This merely shows recognition of conducting a “political audit.”

Certain voices say Yang announced the audit results toward the end of the Lee administration`s term because of a desire to remain at his position under the incoming Park Geun-hye administration. Rumors say officials at the government watchdog are secretly lobbying those who will assume key posts under the next president. If the organization fails to remain an independent entity as stipulated by the Constitution, its chairman and senior members should be held responsible. Just as judges speak through their verdicts, the state audit agency should use audit results as its voice.