Yoo Byungho, Audit Committee Member, Arrested Over Negligent Audit of Presidential Residence Relocation

"Concerns Over Destruction of Evidence"

Yoo Byung-ho, Audit Committee member of the Board of Audit and Inspection who faced allegations of a negligent audit regarding the presidential residence relocation, has been taken into custody.

Yoo Byung-ho, Audit Committee Member of the Board of Audit and Inspection accused of abuse of authority related to the 'Residing Office Relocation Audit Failure Allegations,' is appearing for investigation on the 13th at the 2nd Comprehensive Special Investigation Division in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News.

On July 20, Lee Jong-rok, Senior Judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Yoo after holding a pre-trial detention hearing on charges of abuse of authority and interference with the exercise of rights, citing concerns about destruction of evidence.

Yoo served as Secretary General of the Board of Audit and Inspection during the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. He is accused of unjustly intervening in order to downplay or conceal audit findings related to the relocation of the presidential office and residence at that time.

Previously, after being elected, former President Yoon Suk Yeol relocated the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and the presidential residence to the former official residence of the Foreign Minister. Following this, suspicions arose concerning the selection of construction companies and the construction costs, and in October 2022, civil society organizations such as People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy filed a public audit request, leading to an investigation.

In September 2024, the Board of Audit and Inspection released the "Audit Report on Alleged Illegalities Related to the Relocation of the Presidential Office and Residence and Use of Expenditures." However, the report did not include detailed procedures regarding the selection of construction companies, sparking controversy over a potentially negligent audit.

The 2nd Comprehensive Special Prosecutor’s team, which requested the arrest warrant, believes that Yoo issued instructions to the audit team regarding how the audit should be conducted and how materials should be requested. They allege that he abused his authority as Secretary General and interfered with the proper work of the audit team, thereby constituting abuse of power.

There are also allegations that Yoo was involved in concealing or downplaying the audit findings. The Board of Audit and Inspection stated that 21gram, an interior construction company, requested a comprehensive construction company with the necessary license to participate in the extension work, and that is how the project was carried out. However, investigations revealed that 21gram managed not only the extension but the entire construction project. By fronting the comprehensive construction company and creating a facade of legality, 21gram, which lacked the necessary construction qualifications, actually carried out all the work.

The special prosecutor’s team believes that the Board of Audit and Inspection was aware of these facts, but deliberately omitted them from the audit report.

By contrast, Yoo has denied all charges, maintaining that many of the suspected acts occurred under his successor’s tenure and insisting that all audit work was carried out appropriately.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.