South Korea's Board of Audit and Inspection has identified a series of administrative problems in Andong and Bonghwa, including tourism-development projects that moved ahead without completing required procedures.
In Andong, auditors examined a large cultural-tourism development project and found problems in project preparation and administrative management. Reporting on the audit says the city proceeded with major planning work even though key land had not been secured, increasing the risk that spending would move ahead before the project was ready.
The audit reached beyond project planning
Bonghwa faced a separate finding over a tourism project in which 7.2 billion won was spent before the required provincial investment review was completed. The audit also identified personnel-management problems, including hiring and evaluation issues, and requested disciplinary or cautionary measures in connection with some findings.
The audit covered municipal operations including personnel, recruitment and public investment, focusing largely on work carried out from 2021 through 2025. Both local governments had gone years without a regular institutional audit.
The findings matter because the weaknesses were not confined to one isolated contract. They involved the sequence of public-investment approvals, project readiness and personnel controls, all areas where procedural failures can create long-term costs even before a project is completed.