Seoul: Threats, coercion, and unlawful methods were reportedly employed during state audits conducted by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) under the former Yoon Suk Yeol government. These audits scrutinized the preceding Moon Jae-in administration, investigating allegations such as the manipulation of real estate statistics.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the BAI's recent inspection revealed that during the 2022-2023 audits, officials employed intimidating and coercive techniques. These audits targeted the alleged manipulation of real estate data and the Moon administration's handling of North Korea's 2020 killing of a South Korean civil servant in the Yellow Sea.

The findings indicated that the BAI's team in charge of the statistics manipulation case issued threats during questioning, warning officials from the land ministry and the presidential office that their careers could be jeopardized if they did not comply. The audit specifically targeted the Moon administration's presidential policy chief and land minister.

It was further reported that an audit official fabricated statements, falsely claiming a land ministry official admitted to distorting housing statistics due to pressure from ministry officials on the real estate monitoring agency. These false statements were then added to the investigation record.

Additional violations included extending questioning sessions past midnight, infringing on human rights, and improper handling of mobile phone forensics. Officials were allegedly coerced into consenting to digital forensics, with personal data being extracted and replica phones created without following due process.

In response, the BAI has filed criminal complaints against nine officials for abuse of authority, obstruction of official duties, and document falsification. The BAI has also called for the dismissal and other disciplinary actions against ten officials.

The BAI expressed its grave concern over the severe abuses of audit authority, including coercive audits and evidence manipulation. They emphasized their commitment to overhauling systems and staff training to prevent future occurrences of such incidents.