KOR
▲ Yoo Byung-ho, a member of the Board of Audit and Inspection, arrives for questioning by the special counsel.
The 2nd Special Counsel Team, led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating remaining allegations following the third special counsel probe, has summoned Yoo Byung-ho, a member of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) (vice-ministerial level), regarding suspicions of a flawed audit into the relocation of the presidential residence.
The special counsel team has been questioning Yoo as a suspect on charges of abuse of power since 10:00 a.m. today (July 13).
Upon arriving at the special counsel's office, Yoo claimed, "The special counsel team has created a fictional scenario and mobilized unjust means to conduct indiscriminate search and seizure operations and summon those related to the Board of Audit and Inspection." He added, "They must be held accountable for these illegal and unjust acts that abuse public authority."
Yoo is suspected of improperly intervening to downplay and cover up the results of an audit regarding the relocation of the presidential residence while serving as the Secretary General of the BAI during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
After taking office, former President Yoon Suk Yeol relocated the presidential office to the former Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan and the presidential residence to the former official residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Various allegations were subsequently raised regarding the selection process for construction contractors and construction costs, leading to an audit after People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and others filed for a public audit in October 2022.
Following an approximately two-year audit, the BAI released an "Audit Report on Alleged Illegalities Regarding the Relocation of the Presidential Office and Residence and Cost Expenditures" in September 2024.
The report stated that in April 2022, the presidential transition committee tentatively decided on the former Foreign Minister's residence as the site for the new presidential residence and selected 21gram as the interior design contractor.
It also noted that the Presidential Secretariat confirmed in May 2022 that the construction plans included a small-scale expansion, and requested 21gram to find a contractor qualified for such work. 21gram then requested Wondam Construction, which held a general construction license, to participate in the expansion project, allowing the work to proceed.
However, investigations revealed that 21gram had effectively overseen the entire construction process, including the expansion, rather than just the interior design.
The special counsel team's investigation concluded that Wondam Construction, which held the general construction license, was used to create a facade of legality, while 21gram, which lacked the necessary qualifications, actually performed all the work.
The special counsel team suspects that the BAI also identified these facts during the audit process but intentionally omitted them from the audit report, recording as if 21gram had only been responsible for the interior design.
In connection with this, the special counsel team conducted search and seizure operations at the BAI and the office of Yoo Byung-ho on May 14 to secure relevant materials. Since then, they have summoned BAI officials one by one to investigate the circumstances surrounding the report's drafting and any instructions given.
On June 16, the team requested an arrest warrant for a current BAI official who served as the head of the audit team and oversaw the practical work, on charges including the drafting of false official documents. However, the court dismissed the warrant, and the team failed to secure the suspect.
The special counsel team plans to question Yoo regarding the circumstances of the residence relocation audit, the content of his instructions, and whether there was any involvement from "higher-ups," such as the presidential office.
In a statement released on this day, Yoo completely denied the allegations, stating, "The audit of the residence relocation was the result of all staff members putting their careers on the line and doing their utmost to uphold the law and principles."
Yoo argued, "The expansion work handled by Wondam Construction amounted to less than 60 million won, which is only 1.85 percent of the total construction cost of approximately 3.1 billion won. Yet, the special counsel has blown this out of proportion and requested an arrest warrant for the audit team leader who did nothing wrong."
He added, "Regarding the relationship between 21gram and Wondam Construction, we judged that it was difficult to view it as a lending of business registration under legal principles, and we included the basis for that in the audit report. We also took strict measures, to an unusual degree, regarding other administrative violations such as the failure to obtain approval for subcontracting. Despite this, the special counsel is isolating and inflating a matter that constitutes only a tiny fraction of the entire project to make it an issue."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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