Choe Jae-hyeong, chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, resigned Monday.

In revealing to reporters that he had tendered his resignation earlier in the day, the head of the nation’s state audit agency said he’d have time to deliberate on what role he should play in the future of South Korea.

When asked whether he would run for president next year, he declined to answer but said there would be opportunities to speak about it later.

Choe appears to be considering entering the political arena. Most politicians see his resignation as a sign of his intention to run for president.

The board chairman’s term is four years and is guaranteed by the Constitution. Choe was set to serve till January, but he resigned with about six months remaining. If he were considering running in the presidential election, slated for March 9 next year, it would probably have been hard to put off his decision any further.

For the head of the top audit agency, political neutrality and independence in carrying out one’s official duties are crucial. The same is true for the prosecutor general. It is not desirable for them to fail to fulfill their terms to run for president.

Ruling party lawmakers and their supporters condemn Choe and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl for hiding their political ambitions while running the prosecution and the board.

But this is misleading. It is the regime of President Moon Jae-in that caused the situation that effectively drove them into politics.

One of the key roles of both the prosecution and the board is to find corruption in officialdom and root it out. It is unavoidable that they will be on uncomfortable terms with those in power. For precisely this reason, the independence of both agencies is essential.

But Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party did not respect their independence. They perceived the natural execution of duties by the prosecution and the board as challenges to their power and tried to tame them.

Last year Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae took a spate of unreasonable steps to expel Prosecutor General Yoon from his post. Her successor, Justice Minister Park Beom-kye, took action to effectively block the prosecution from investigating allegations against those close to Moon.

The pressure was more dramatic in Yoon’s case, less so in Choe’s. Not as much about the pressure Choe faced was revealed to the public, either. But from what came out, it looks serious.

At the request of the National Assembly, the board audited the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy over the early suspension of the Wolsong-1 Nuclear Power Plant. It found that the economic profitability of the reactor was unreasonably undervalued and the ministry had deleted 444 files with a view to obstructing the audit.

At the time ruling party lawmakers attacked Choe, saying, “If you are uncomfortable with the direction of the president’s administration of state affairs, you should step down.”

Last month, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office embarked on an investigation into Choe over the audit of the Wolsong-1 reactor after a civic group supportive of the current administration filed charges.

The board audited the ministry on suspicion of intentional manipulation of the plant’s economic viability and requested that the prosecution investigate the case and indict related officials. Instead, the prosecution targeted the board’s chairman. How this must have baffled Choe.

Cheong Wa Dae asked the top auditor on several occasions to recommend former Vice Justice Minister Kim Oh-soo, regarded as loyal to Moon, as a member of the board. But Choe refused, mentioning Kim’s pro-government tendencies, which could have undermined the political neutrality of its audits. Later, Moon appointed Kim as prosecutor general.

Choe must not have been able to look on in silence as the rule of law was undermined and constitutional principles were flouted. Many voters probably feel the same way, and their discontent has turned Yoon and Choe into potential candidates for the main opposition party. Without the Moon regime’s tyrannical and hypocritical abuses of power, there would have been no need for Choe to quit his post and consider entering politics.

Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party will need to think about why Yoon and Choe resigned before completing their terms.