Cho-related scandals reveal chronic shortcomings of annual audit

Main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, second from left, and LKP floor leader Na Kyung-won, left, join a rally at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul, Oct. 3, calling for scandal-ridden Justice Minister Cho Kuk to step down. / Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

The National Assembly has faced calls for years to overhaul its annual audit because it fails to properly assess hundreds of government bodies ranging from ministries and their subordinate organizations to state-run firms.

The 2019 audit, which started Oct. 2, is unlikely to be an exception, as lawmakers are excessively focused on scandal-ridden Justice Minister Cho Kuk instead of covering other major areas.

The audit is held for 20 days every year, but the amount of time is seen as a major shortcoming because it is too short for a thorough inspection of government activities for the previous year.

The case is more extreme this year as more than 800 organizations ― the highest in the audit history ― are subject to the audit.

“I'd say the audit only scratches the surface of issues that need to be brought up to the public,” said Se Jung-wook, a lawyer who doubles as a political commentator. “It's virtually impossible to inspect that many organizations in less than a three week.”

At least nine of the Assembly's 17 standing committees oversee organizations that are linked to the Cho-related corruption scandal that encompasses college admission fraud by his daughter and the suspicious assets management.

The nine deal with issues on the judiciary, education, finance, ICT, public administration, trade, welfare and foreign affairs, and may have insufficient time to deal with other urgent topics.

The audit this year also reveals anther chronic shortcoming ― the summoning of an excessive number of witnesses without any clear explanations.

For instance, members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party have summoned 69 witnesses who are allegedly involved in the Cho allegations.

The number is separate from 200 entrepreneurs including those from Samsung and other top conglomerates who are to be summoned throughout the end of the audit, Oct. 21.

The National Assembly Law does not require lawmakers to give their reasons for summoning witnesses.

“Such a practice is an excessive use of legislative power that must stop,” said a political commentator who only wanted to be addressed by his surname Lee.

According to him, the audit is exploited by some legislators who want to humiliate high-profile witness through their questioning and bring public attention to themselves as they prepare for the next general election.

“The audit is not about showmanship,” Lee said.

The audit is also criticized for leaving working-level civil servants unprotected from compiling heavy loads of material and turning them over to lawmakers who demand them.

The Assembly law does not require lawmakers to specify how they will use the materials. This makes civil servants work extra hours for as long as two months before the audit, but most of the material turned over is not even used.