SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team said Friday it indicted a state auditor on charges of improperly intervening to downplay the findings of an audit into the relocation of the presidential office and residence under former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Ryou Byeong-ho, a member of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), was charged with abusing his authority as the then secretary-general to instruct auditors to request documents from the presidential office only verbally and not through official means, and refrain from questioning presidential officials in person, according to special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team.

The audit into the relocation project was launched in late 2022 amid suspicions surrounding the selection of the construction company.

After a two-year audit, the BAI announced in a September 2024 report that construction for the relocation proceeded as a joint effort between 21 Gram, an interior design firm linked to Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, and a licensed construction company.

The special counsel team, however, suspects that 21 Gram effectively directed the entire project and the BAI intentionally omitted the findings from its report.

yusbvtyhtoo@yna.co.kr

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