Audit rollback aims to revive bold governance

South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection announced Aug. 6 that it will abolish audits targeting government policy decisions. The move aims to prevent a chilling effect in the civil service, where new administrations have used such audits to hold previous governments accountable for past policies. The announcement came just 13 days after President Lee Jae-myung called for an end to demoralizing hardworking officials under the pretext of policy reviews. Introduced in 2003, the system will now be scrapped after 22 years.

The BAI also said it will ease disciplinary and criminal liability for mistakes made while performing official duties. Unless there is serious misconduct, such as pursuing personal interests or offering special favors, errors that occur during the course of policymaking or project execution will not result in punishment. This standard will apply to all audits. The board also plans to revise its rules to clearly define which matters are exempt from inspection, including the validity of major policy decisions and their stated objectives.

The audit program was first introduced under the Roh Moo-hyun administration to enhance the quality of policymaking. Over time, however, it became a tool for politically driven scrutiny of previous governments. A prime example is the series of audits into the Four Major Rivers Project, conducted five times under the Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye, and Moon Jae-in administrations. Although each audit examined the same project, the BAI produced varying conclusions depending on the ruling party, further eroding public trust.

In one case, public officials who assessed the economic feasibility of the Wolseong-1 nuclear reactor were dismissed, prosecuted, and eventually acquitted by the Supreme Court after more than three years of litigation. Critics have also pointed out that the Fair Trade Commission frequently loses lawsuits over corporate fines because field-level officials tend to impose overly high penalties to protect themselves from possible audit repercussions.

When civil servants worry more about audits and punishment than policy outcomes, government work inevitably becomes risk-averse. Instead of pursuing reform or delivering results, officials are driven to avoid responsibility, reinforcing a culture of bureaucratic inertia. The BAI’s announcement should mark the beginning of broader efforts to reverse this trend. What citizens want are not officials who avoid mistakes at all costs, but those who take initiative, even if it means breaking a few dishes along the way. Amid economic slowdown and global trade tensions, South Korea needs public servants who deliver results, not ones who play it safe.