▲ The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI)
A senior official at the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), who faced allegations of conducting a "flawed and delayed" audit regarding the relocation of the presidential residence under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, has avoided arrest.
According to legal circles on June 19, Lee Jong-rok, a senior judge at the Seoul Central District Court in charge of warrants, dismissed the arrest warrant for the BAI official, identified by his surname Son, after holding a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant validity review) yesterday.
The court explained the dismissal by stating, "It is difficult to recognize the grounds or necessity for arrest in light of the level of substantiation regarding the criminal charges, the room for dispute over them, and the progress of the investigation."
Son, who served as the head of the audit team for the presidential residence relocation and oversaw the practical operations, is accused of drafting a false report by manipulating evidentiary documents during the audit process.
Previously, the 2nd Special Prosecutor Team led by Kwon Chang-young requested an arrest warrant for Son on June 16 on charges including the creation of false official documents, stating, "We have confirmed that audit evidence documents were manipulated, and there are circumstances suggesting that the content influenced the audit results."
After taking office, former President Yoon Suk-yeol relocated the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan and the presidential residence to the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs official residence.
The special prosecutor team believes that "21gram," a company without the proper qualifications for construction, oversaw the entire project while using "Wondam General Construction," which holds a general construction license, as a front to create the appearance of legality.
The special prosecutor team suspects that the BAI also identified during its audit that 21gram was in charge of the overall construction, but intentionally omitted this in the audit report, instead recording it as if 21gram had only handled the interior design work.
The BAI began its audit in October 2022 after People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and others requested a public audit regarding suspicions surrounding the residence relocation.
About two years later, in September 2024, the board released an "Audit Report on Suspicions of Illegalities in the Relocation of the Presidential Office and Residence and the Use of Expenses."
In the report, the BAI stated that 21gram was selected as the interior contractor for the residence and that the construction took place after 21gram requested Wondam General Construction to participate in the expansion work.
In connection with this, the special prosecutor team raided the BAI and the office of Audit Commissioner 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 drafting of the report and any instructions given.
Concerns are now being raised that the failure to secure Son may cause setbacks in the investigation into whether higher-level officials were involved.
Initially, the special prosecutor team planned to intensify its investigation into the leadership, including Commissioner Yoo, who served as the Secretary-General of the BAI during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
The special prosecutor team plans to review the reasons for the dismissal of the arrest warrant and consider whether to request it again.
Depending on the future results of the investigation, the possibility remains open for an inquiry into First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who is considered the "pinnacle" of the allegations.
21gram is a company that sponsored exhibitions hosted by Covana Contents, which was operated by Kim, and was responsible for the design and construction of its office.
It is known that Kim has a close personal relationship with the spouse of the company's CEO.
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor team has indicted former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min on charges of illegally diverting government funds during the residence relocation process and is investigating whether the Ministry of Planning and Finance (formerly the Ministry of Strategy and Finance) was involved.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.