Korea Board of Audit requests prosecutors to investigate allegations of delays in THAAD deployment under Moon administration

The Board of Audit of Korea has asked prosecutors to investigate four people associated with the former Moon Jae-in administration over allegations that the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system was deliberately delayed under the administration.
On the 18th, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced that it had requested the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to investigate four people, including then National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong, on suspicion of abuse of power.
The BAI reportedly found allegations of abuse of power by Chung and other senior foreign and security officials of the previous administration during the process of a public interest audit to examine the decision-making process for the THAAD deployment.
The previous administration maintained the position that a general environmental impact assessment must be completed before THAAD can be officially deployed. As a result, the related procedures were not completed during former President Moon's term in office.
The public interest audit was initiated in July last year at the request of the Republic of Korea Guardian Reserve Officers Corps, an organization of former military officers. The purpose of the audit request was to investigate the delay in the formation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Council and the electricity shortage caused by the previous administration.
The government is accused of delaying the normal operation of the THAAD base by avoiding disclosing the results of measurements of magnetic waves and low-frequency noise to the public and destroying related documents.
In response, at the end of October of the same year, the Board of Audit and Inspection inspected the Blue House National Security Office, the Presidential Secretariat, the Ministry of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Air Force Headquarters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Environment,
The audit was launched on 11 organizations, including the Ministry of Border Affairs, the National Police Agency, the Korea Institute for Defense Studies, and the city and county of Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province.
The government announced that it had completed an audit into the suspected delay in the THAAD deployment and was currently reviewing the matter internally.