SEOUL– The state audit agency has requested the prosecution investigate the head of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) over allegations that she inappropriately interfered with the watchdog’s reviews of two politically sensitive cases, sources said Tuesday.

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) has referred Jeon Hyun-heui, chair of the ACRC, to the prosecution on suspicions that she influenced the commission’s authoritative interpretation in 2019 in connection with allegations that former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae’s son received preferential treatment during his military service, they said.
The audit agency also sought an investigation into whether Jeon meddled in the ACRC’s conclusion in July that it can’t deliver an official interpretation of the previous government’s handling of the death in 2020 of a fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers in waters near the western maritime border, according to the sources.

The BAI’s move came as Jeon faces growing pressure from the ruling People Power Party to resign from the post before her term ends in June next year.

The former two-term lawmaker was appointed by former President Moon Jae-in in June 2020. She quit the main opposition Democratic Party after the appointment.

Source: Yonhap News Agency