Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection, attends his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, in this file photo taken Feb. 12, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a motion impeaching the chief state auditor over his alleged poor review of suspected irregularities surrounding the 2022 relocation of the presidential office and residence.
The court dismissed the motion in a unanimous 8-0 vote, immediately returning Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection, to his duties.
By law, the consent of at least six justices is required to uphold an impeachment.
“(The BAI) conducted an audit of whether legally set procedures were followed in the decision-making process behind the relocation of the presidential office and residence, and there are no circumstances suggesting it was a poor audit,” the court said.
The court also rejected allegations in the impeachment motion that Choe performed an audit targeting Jeon Hyun-heui, former chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, to pressure her to resign.
Choe had been impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly in December.
(Yonhap)
