hankyoreh

Choe Jae-hyeong, then-chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, talks to reporters at the entrance of the agency’s headquarters in Seoul on Monday. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

Choe Jae-hyeong, chairman of South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), resigned on Monday, with six months left in his term.

“I submitted my resignation to the president today because I thought it would be inappropriate to continue chairing the board given all the controversy over my future plans,” Choe said Monday.

When asked if he intends to run for president, Choe said, “That’s not something I should talk about while announcing my resignation. I will spend some time pondering what role I should play for the future of the Republic of Korea.”

There’s no precedent in Korea’s constitutional history for a BAI chairman — whose chief values are political independence and neutrality — stepping down before their term is over to engage in politics.

Former BAI chairmen Lee Hoi-chang and Kim Hwang-sik did enter politics, but only after a stint as prime minister — which is an appointed position, not an elected one, in the Korean political system.

The BAI is a constitutional body responsible for auditing the work of administrative agencies and public servants. The legal grounds for the BAI’s establishment appear in Korea’s constitution, shielding the BAI from challenges to its authority and scope. Under Article 98, Clause 2, of the constitution, the BAI chairman has a four-year term and can be reappointed once.

By resigning his position to join politics, Choe is trampling on the BAI’s political neutrality and independence, enshrined in the constitution.

Choe is likely to face criticism for his incoherent claim that he resigned because of “controversy about my future plans.” Despite being the head of a constitutional body, he remained silent for months while being bandied about as a potential presidential candidate for the opposition party.

Choe could have quickly quashed the controversy about his plans by plainly disavowing any intention to run for president.

Instead, Choe Jae-hyeong further enflamed the controversy with an ambiguous answer during an appearance at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on June 18. When Choi Kang-wook, head of the Open Democratic Party, asked about Choe’s future plans, the BAI chairman promised to “reveal my position before long.”

Choe’s clashes with the Moon administration over the economic feasibility of the Wolseong nuclear plant and over the appointment of Kim Oh-soo as a BAI commissioner had fueled calls for him to enter the political arena.

But others saw that as even more reason for Choe to keep his distance from politics.

Choe justified his dustups with the Moon administration by referring to Article 2 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, which calls for the BAI to “retain an independent status in regard to its duties.” But critics are likely to say that Choe had been working to build a base of support with the conservatives all along.

Members of the BAI who could barely believe rumors about Choe’s resignation expressed feelings of betrayal.

One BAI employee who spoke with the Hankyoreh was sharply critical of Choe’s actions. “The BAI chairman is supposed to use the authority with which he’s endowed to fairly carry out his duties, and not to gain popularity and build a political base,” the employee said.

“Jumping straight into politics doesn’t look good. He doesn’t have any loyalty [to the BAI],” another said.

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party was just as harsh in its criticism of Choe’s decision to enter politics, which it described as “the height of naeronambul,” meaning double standards.

The phrase “naeronambul,” which literally means “romance when I do it, and adultery when you do it,” has taken on keen political resonance in recent months.

“Anyone can see that it goes against the spirit of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act for the sitting chairman to resign before the end of his term and announce a presidential bid with the opposition party,” Democratic Party Chairman Song Young-gil told reporters who were attending a budget policy conference for North Gyeongsang Province, in the city of Gumi, on Monday.

Song also noted that Choe himself had cited “political bias” as the grounds for rejecting the Blue House’s recommendation of Kim Oh-soo to be one of the BAI’s commissioners.

“It’s an extremely ludicrous example of naeronambul [double standards] for Choe, after he rejected [Kim Oh-soo], to then resign as chairman so that he can run for president with the opposition party,” Song said.

For its part, the opposition is excited about Choe’s imminent arrival into the realm of politics. Lee Jun-seok, head of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), welcomed the move.

“I’ve always thought well of Choe — he’s someone that we can get along with,” Lee said.

Chung Ui-hwa, former speaker of the National Assembly, described Choe as “a very pure and sweet individual.”

“He’s the most appropriate person at a time when the Republic of Korea needs an upgrade as a liberal democracy,” Chung said.

But there are conflicting views about whether Choe will join the PPP right away. Some think he’ll stay outside the party until public criticism about his decision to join politics dies down. But plenty of others expect him to join the party quite quickly, given his lack of a political base and his need to catch up to former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, both in terms of name recognition and support.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

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