State audit agency grilled at Assembly over fisheries official's death
來源：開云體育app官方網站發布日期：2023-01-30 11:57:30 瀏覽：2447
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| Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), takes a vow before answering questions from lawmakers at an audit session held at the National Assembly, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The National Assembly's audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) continued on Tuesday with rival parties clashing over issues surrounding the state agency's probe into the previous government's handling of the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by the North Korean military.
The session came to a halt less than 10 minutes after it kicked off as lawmakers of the rival parties ― the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DPK) ― disagreed on who should give their statements first.
It resumed after a 20-minute break, but did not proceed as opposition lawmakers called senior presidential secretary Lee Gwan-sub as a witness.
The DPK's request came after a text message between Lee and BAI Secretary General Ryou Byeong-ho was captured on camera, Oct.5, in which Ryou shared how the audit agency plans to refute a media report that it did not follow protocol in investigating the death of the fisheries official in 2020.
During the audit, Ryou offered an apology for causing controversy with his text message, but explained that it was "normal communication."
In September 2020, a 47-year-old fisheries official surnamed Lee was shot dead by the North Korean military near the western maritime border.
At the time, the Moon Jae-in administration concluded that he was killed while attempting to defect to the North. But in June this year, the Yoon Suk-yeol government overturned the decision, saying there was no evidence to prove such a motive. In July, the BAI launched a full-scale inspection of related institutions, including the Coast Guard, the National Intelligence Service and the National Security Office.
Opposition lawmakers have described the investigation as "political retaliation" targeting the previous administration.
The Assembly's audit came amid escalating tensions between the DPK and the state audit agency, which attempted to question Moon. In late September, the BAI contacted the former president, asking him to answer written questions concerning his administration's alleged mishandling of the fisheries official's death.
The DPK said it seeks to file a complaint into possible violations of the BAI's autonomy and political neutrality, accusing it of working with the presidential office on "politically motivated" inspections.
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