President Moon Jae-in on Friday emphasized independence and political neutrality of state auditors as he appointed a new head of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI).

The appointment of Choe Jae-hae, a former senior official at the BAI, came about two months after Moon nominated him to lead the key state agency.

During an appointment ceremony, Moon stressed the importance of independence and political neutrality of the audit agency and asked Choe to ensure the discipline of public officials, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters.

Choe, who had served in various capacities at the BAI, became the first BAI chief with a professional career at the agency established in 1963.

Choe is expected to contribute to the realization of a public service community to be trusted by the people, presidential officials said. (Yonhap)