South Korean civic groups demand reinvestigation into education office's Olympic trip expenses

Civic organizations and labor unions in South Korea are demanding a thorough reinvestigation into the Jeonbuk Provincial Office of Education's controversial use of funds for a trip to the Milan Winter Olympics. The groups accuse the office of improperly using student athletic budgets for the overseas excursion, raising concerns about procedural violations and a lack of transparency.

The controversy erupted when it became known that student athletic funds were allocated for the trip. While the official delegation comprised five people, seven tickets for the games were reportedly purchased. Further allegations include expenses for activities not on the official itinerary and suspicions that parts of the travel costs were split across the 2025 and 2026 budgets.

The Provincial Office of Education's audit division conducted an internal review and ordered the recovery of some travel expenses. However, the results of this audit have not been fully disclosed, citing ongoing review processes. This has led to criticism that the internal audit was a superficial attempt to cover up wrongdoing, a phenomenon often referred to as 'insider protection.'

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The office's audit office, ignoring the external audit request, concluded its internal audit into the allegations of misconduct by the acting superintendent's trip to the Milan Olympics. The recovery of travel expenses alone cannot resolve the fundamental issues of procedural illegality and suspicions about the actual users.

In response, a coalition including the Jeonbuk Provincial Office of the Korean Government Employees' Union, the Jeonbuk Branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, and the Jeonbuk Citizens' Coalition for Media Freedom issued a joint statement. They argue that simply recovering funds does not address the core issues of procedural illegality and the unclear beneficiaries of the expenses.

The organizations are urging Cheon Ho-seong, the acting superintendent, to establish a special audit committee, as he promised during his election campaign. They demand a comprehensive re-examination of the ticket purchases, the purpose of undocumented expenses, and the rationale behind splitting the budget across multiple fiscal years. They also called for strict accountability for anyone involved in the misconduct.

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We demand that Superintendent Cheon reinvestigate the circumstances of ticket purchases different from the official number of participants, the actual use of funds for performances not on the official schedule, and the reasons for splitting the budget across the 2025 and 2026 budgets through the special audit committee directly under the superintendent, which was promised during the election campaign.