When audited entities encounter difficulties in providing public services due to unclear regulations or the absence of precedent for judgment, the pre-consulting service of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) is available. Upon receiving the application, the BAI reviews the legality and feasibility of the matters concerned, and if he/she followed the BAI’s pre-consultation suggestions, the applicant may be relieved of the responsibilities for the consequences that occurred. This induces government officials and other public officers to provide more dedicated government services to citizens.

The “Regulations on Management of Pre-consulting Service of the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea” was enacted on December 13, 2018.

The “Regulations on Management of Pre-consulting Service of the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea” was amended on March 6, 2019.

Who Can Apply

The heads of central administrative agencies, municipal and provincial governors, or superintendents of education.

Matters Subject to Pre-consulting Service

All matters subject to audit by the BAI that complicate decision-making as the related regulations are vague or multiple organizations are involved. However, in order to preserve the intent of the pre-consultation service, some matters can be excluded from the service, such as (1) when officials are using it to settle civil petitions as a means of bureaucratic inertia or evasion of responsibilities, or (2) when the purpose is to verify the illegality or unjustness of the disposition that have already taken place.

How to Apply

Applicants can submit an “Application for Pre-consultation” to the BAI (Division of Proactive Administration Support), which contains background information, related laws, key issues, list of self-checked items, etc. However, since the BAI pre-consulting service was launched to support pre-consulting audit (internal auditing of the central government ministries and local governments), applicants should first request their internal audit agencies for a pre-consulting audit.* If internal audit agencies require or need external assistance, they can apply for the BAI pre-consulting service. *Pre-consulting audit: local governments and public agencies can request their internal audit agencies to review the legality and validity of the cases concerned before the actual internal audit takes place. After reviewing the application, the internal audit agencies present their suggestions.

Procedures

After receiving the application, the BAI delivers the results of its observation and review within 30 days. If the BAI deems that the case critically impacts citizens, the results are provided to the applicant within 60 days after discussion with the pre-consulting advisory committee.

After receiving the suggestions of the BAI, the consulted organizations should then inform the BAI (Division of Proactive Administration Support) of how they implemented the suggestions. Even though the consulted organizations are not legally bound to observe the results of the BAI’s pre-consulting, unless there are special circumstances, the organizations should strive to reflect the opinions of the BAI.

Regarding the matters consulted by the BAI, the applicants are considered to have fulfilled the criteria that relieves them of accountability when:

• ① Applicants provide public service according to the pre-consultation suggestions. If the applicants do not comply with the BAI opinions or apply them to matters that have not been pre-consulted, the applicants will not be exempted from disciplinary actions.
• ② Applicants provide the BAI with information regarding all matters concerned.
• ③ Applicants have no private interest involved in the works concerned.

Legal basis for establishment

Clause 6 of the “Regulations on Management of Pre-consulting Service of the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea.”

Composition of the committee

The committee is composed of 5 commissioners, including the committee chair. The committee comprises the Director General of the Proactive Administration Support Bureau of the BAI, and the Director of the agency that requested the BAI pre-consulting service or the Director of the related central administrative agency’s audit department. External members with proven professional expertise in related matters (e.g. finance, information technology, etc.) serve in an advisory capacity to the committee on proactive governance and disciplinary action exemption, as well as the pre-consulting advisory committee.

Functions of the committee

The committee discusses cases subject to their consultation among the registered applications.

Cases Subject to Consultation of the Committee

• ① Cases that have a significant impact on citizens, or if multiple stakeholders are involved.
• ② Cases that involve numerous ministries, and where there is a difference of opinion in the interpretation and application of the regulations.
• ③ Other cases where the Director General (Bureau of Proactive Administration Support) determines that a discussion among the pre-consulting advisory committee is necessary.

Case #1

Ministry A applied for BAI pre-consulting on whether it could purchase expendable items with government purchase cards on a cybermall (a virtual shopping mall established to transact goods), as it deemed the purchase of expendable supplies through vendors inefficient. In this regard, the BAI responded that the Ministry could purchase expendable items with government purchase cards from cybermalls as related laws, such as the “Management of the National Funds Act,” do not restrict the online purchases of goods. In this case, the BAI assisted in promoting the efficiency of the Ministry’s purchasing process and in expanding its purchasing channel.

Case #2

Company A notified Ministry B in advance that it will suspend the import of the drug used for the treatment of glaucoma, which was the only glaucoma drug approved in Korea. In anticipation of the disruption in supply, , Ministry B requested the BAI’s pre-consulting service on whether they could designate the same drug from domestic pharmaceutical company B (which was produced only for export) as a substitute for the imported glaucoma drug. The BAI responded that the Ministry could designate the drug of pharmaceutical company B as a substitute to assure the drug’s availability to the public and because only company B was able to manufacture the drug.