Opposition says audit of Im Eun-jung just 10 days after appointment is 'admission of failed hire'

The People Power Party on Sunday criticized Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung for ordering an audit of Im Eun-jung, chief of the Gwangju Regional Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, saying the move amounted to "a self-admission of a failed appointment."

Rep. Kang Myung-gu of the People Power Party, who leads his party's side on the National Assembly's Interior and Safety Committee, wrote on Facebook that it was the interior minister himself who had appointed Im as the inaugural chief of the Gwangju agency. "Appointing her one week ago and launching an audit a mere 10 days later is confessing, after just 10 days, that the appointment was a complete disaster," he said.

Kang argued that Im had been making political statements on SNS since her days as a prosecutor, adding, "It was wrong from the start to appoint such a notorious troublemaker as one of the six inaugural regional serious crimes agency chiefs."

He also argued that the minister's order could undermine the independence and political neutrality of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.

"Ordering an audit of a senior agency official's statements — not personal misconduct — just 10 days after the agency's launch could set a dangerous precedent that threatens the agency's independence and political neutrality as an investigative body," Kang said.

Earlier that day, Minister Yun announced via SNS that he would direct the agency to launch an audit of Im under the Act on the Organization and Operation of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.

Im had publicly questioned the qualifications of Kim Ji-yong, the nominee for inaugural chief of the national Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, citing concerns about his conduct during his time as a prosecutor.