President Moon Jae-in accepted the resignation of Chairman Choi Jae-hyeong and approved the resignation of Chairman Choi, the Blue House said.



Blue House spokeswoman Park Kyung-mi said in a briefing, "President Moon Jae-in approved the dismissal of the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection at around 5:50 pm today."



"President Moon expressed regret and regret, saying, 'The appointment of the Auditor General is to protect political neutrality, and Chairman Choi has set an undesirable precedent,'" Park said.



The term of office of the Board of Audit and Inspection Service stipulated in the Constitution is four years, and Director Choi resigned with about six months remaining.



A key Blue House official explained the reasons for the resignation of the chief auditors after the civil government, and strongly criticized Choi, saying, "In light of this precedent, it is the first time that he has resigned mid-term himself during his tenure."



According to this official, the 15th Director Hoe-chang Lee and the 21st Director of the Audit Committee, Kim Hwang-sik, resigned after being appointed Prime Minister, while the 16th Si-yoon Lee, the 18th Jong-nam Lee, the 19th Yoon-cheol Jeon, and the 23rd Director Hwang Chan-hyeon completed their terms.



In addition, the 17th Auditor General Han Seung-heon resigned after reaching the retirement age, and the 20th Auditor General Jeon Yun-cheol (re-appointed) resigned as the Lee Myung-bak administration came in and the 22nd Auditor General Yang Geon changed to the Park Geun-hye administration.



The official explained, "Chairman Chan-hyeon Hwang was appointed under the Park Geun-hye administration, but he continued to serve as the director under the Moon Jae-in administration, but resigned in December 2017 and his term was guaranteed."



Regarding the question of whether the agency will be maintained for the time being, the official added, "I don't know about future personnel yet."