South Korea’s National Assembly completed its first full audit this week since Yoon Suk-yeol’s election. But a chain of scandals marked the procedures and drove a never-ending confrontation between progressives and conservatives.

The parliamentary audit is a big deal that has few analogs in other constitutional democracies. Normally, the audit starts in late September and continues for some 20 days. All administrative agencies (ministries, state-run enterprises, local administrations, etc.) are subject to the audit, which means the National Assembly must review 780 individual units. Private citizens may also be summoned for testimony. 

Past audits have unveiled some real problems