Kim Hocheol Vows: "Hardworking Public Servants Will Not Be Punished"

First Breakfast Meeting with Vice Ministers Since Taking Office

"Abolishing audits on policy validity and expanding immunity for proactive administration"

"Changes at the Board of Audit and Inspection must be felt on the front lines"

On August 24, Kim Hocheol, Auditor General of the Board of Audit and Inspection, met with vice ministers from central government ministries and reaffirmed the audit board’s commitment to protecting proactive government officials. He stated, “We will ensure that diligent public officials are not penalized,” reiterating the board’s policy of supporting active administration. The initiative aims to abolish audits that judge the appropriateness of policy decisions, expand the scope of exemptions for proactive conduct, and revamp existing audit practices in a way that officials in the public service can tangibly experience.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, on this day, Kim invited eight officials—including vice ministers from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the vice chairperson of the Financial Services Commission—to a breakfast meeting. Since taking office late last year, this is Kim’s first separate breakfast event specifically arranged with vice ministers of central administrative agencies.

The meeting was organized both to explain the Board of Audit and Inspection’s new operational stance and to encourage proactive administration at each ministry. It also provided a forum to hear directly about the practical difficulties and suggestions arising during policy implementation. Attendees from the board included Auditor General Kim, the secretary general, and the director of planning and coordination.

Kim expressed his appreciation by saying, “I thank the vice ministers who are adjusting numerous conflicting interests, overcoming real-world challenges, and directing the practical work of policies for the benefit of the citizens.”

He went on to explain that since assuming office, he has been instituting a new operational stance under the goals of “an audit trusted by the public, an upright Board of Audit and Inspection,” including a paradigm shift in audits to enhance public benefit, and that the overall operations of the board are being restructured.

In particular, Kim emphasized, “We will ensure that diligent public officials are not penalized.” To this end, the board is pushing to abolish audits that retroactively determine the rightness or wrongness of policy decisions and expand the scope of exemptions for proactive administration. Additionally, the board plans to bolster departments responsible for pre-implementation consulting.

This reaffirms that the Board of Audit and Inspection is shifting its focus from “post-hoc detection” audits toward supporting proactive policy decision-making within the government. The efforts are particularly aimed at reducing so-called “audit anxiety” and passive administration, where officials hesitate to make decisions out of fear of being held accountable for policy failures.

However, Kim cautioned that unless these institutional changes are felt on the ground, they may lose their effectiveness. He asked the vice ministers who oversee policy work to “effectively convey the Board of Audit and Inspection’s efforts to establish proactive administration and its recent changes so that officials on the front lines can truly experience the difference.”

Kim further stressed the importance of communication between ministries and the Board of Audit and Inspection. “The board and each ministry share a common goal—to ensure the public can live safely and prosperously,” he remarked, “so efforts for active communication and understanding are needed.”

The participants held open discussions during the breakfast, covering the board’s pre-consultation system and new operational direction for audits. Ministries also presented the practical challenges they face during policy implementation and suggestions related to the audit system. Starting with this vice ministers’ meeting, the Board of Audit and Inspection plans to continue expanding such forums to share its new operational direction with government ministries and listen to feedback from the field.

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