Board of Audit and Inspection releases findings from regular audit of Korea Meteorological Administration
The Korea Meteorological Administration failed to properly manage and oversee its weather observation equipment, allowing inaccurate data to feed into weather forecasts, a government audit has found. The Board of Audit and Inspection said the findings raise concerns about the reliability of weather forecasts.
The Board of Audit and Inspection released the results of its regular audit of the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday, identifying six cases involving unlawful or improper conduct and one best-practice example. The board issued one formal ruling, three caution notices and one notification, and forwarded the findings to the head of the Korea Meteorological Administration.
According to the board, as of October 2025, a total of 21,533 weather observation devices were in operation across 232 observation agencies — including the Korea Meteorological Administration, central government ministries and local governments. The equipment includes thermometers, barometers, hygrometers, wind vanes and anemometers.
Under current regulations, observation agencies must have equipment verified against performance standards before installation or replacement and register key information in the Observation Metadata System. The system serves as essential reference data for the Korea Meteorological Administration to identify and correct equipment that violates certification requirements and other relevant laws.
The audit found, however, that key information for 7,402 of the 21,533 devices — about 34.4 percent — was missing from the Observation Metadata System.
Of those, 177 devices had failed certification checks, yet the Korea Meteorological Administration allowed them to continue operating in a noncompliant state.
The board called for the head of the Korea Meteorological Administration to ensure that equipment failing to meet certification standards is not allowed to remain in use.
"Eleven observation devices operated by five affiliated agencies, including Jeongeup, had failed to meet certification standards from the outset yet were still being used for weather observation," the board said. "As a result, inaccurate observation data was used in forecasting, raising concerns about the reliability of weather forecasts."
sang@heraldcorp.com
