Labor ministry agency signs audit pact with housing finance corporation

The Human Resources Development Service of Korea said Tuesday it signed an agreement with the Korea Housing Finance Corp. to strengthen internal controls and audit expertise.

The two state-run institutions concluded the pact at the housing finance corporation's headquarters in Busan, with their standing auditors, Kwon Tong-il of the human resources agency and Lim Su-kang of the housing finance corporation, representing the organizations.

Under the agreement, they will support each other in upgrading their internal control systems and will jointly research and develop AI-based audit methods, and swap cases and study techniques for environmental, social and governance audits.

Kwon said the deal should let the two organizations combine their auditing capabilities. "We will respond preemptively to a rapidly changing audit environment, including AI, and make our internal control system more substantial, taking the lead in becoming public institutions trusted by the people," he said.

Lim stressed the sharing of the two agencies' audit experience and expertise and the need to secure new capabilities such as AI-based audit techniques, his office said.

The agreement is the latest in a series of audit cooperation arrangements among internal audit offices at public institutions under the labor ministry. The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency signed a similar pact with the Korea District Heating Corp. on Aug. 7, and reached agreements with the Korea National Park Service and the Korea Tourism Organization on Sept. 10.

The Human Resources Development Service of Korea administers national technical qualification tests, vocational training, the employment permit system for foreign workers and overseas job placement support. The Korea Housing Finance Corp. handles home mortgage loans, housing guarantees covering jeonse deposits and construction financing, reverse mortgages and mortgage-backed securities.