Lee formally appoints chief state auditor

President Lee Jae Myung grants diplomatic consent, known as agrement, to the incoming ambassador from the Republic of Benin at the Yeomin Building complex in this photo provided by Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday granted a letter of appointment to Kim Ho-cheol, the new chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), Cheong Wa Dae said.

A human rights lawyer, Kim previously served as chair of the Korean National Police Commission and as a member of a committee probing suspicious deaths of soldiers. Kim also led Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a liberal-leaning lawyers' group.

Lee also gave a letter of appointment to Park Soo-geun, the chair of the National Labor Relations Commission, which mediates and arbitrates labor disputes.

Park, a labor law expert, previously served as chair of the commission under the previous Moon Jae-in administration and was reappointed to the post. He officially took office on Dec. 1.