"Local Residents Demand Abolition of Overseas Training for Regional Councils" Angry Citizens Petition Blue House

A banner installed on the sidewalk near the Police Human Resources Development Institute on the 30th of last month, when concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) were growing. Photo is unrelated to the article / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The spotlight is intensifying on overseas training trips taken by local council members nationwide. In addition to suspicions of these trips being mere excursions, the fact that most of the training schedules coincided with the spread of the novel coronavirus (Wuhan pneumonia) has heightened criticism toward these overseas trips.

According to the Chungnam Provincial Council and city and county councils in the area on the 7th, 13 city and county council members (including 13 chairpersons) from 13 cities and counties, excluding Cheonan and Geumsan, departed for a 7-night, 9-day overseas training trip to three Eastern European countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Although the stated purposes of the training are ‘leadership capacity enhancement’ and ‘benchmarking cultural tourism facilities,’ most of the itinerary is linked to major tourist attractions in each country, raising suspicions that the trip is more of a leisure excursion.

Notably, when these council members boarded the plane, concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus were growing. In Chungnam, there was strong opposition to the Asan Police Human Resources Development Institute being designated as a temporary living facility for Chinese evacuees from Wuhan. The news of local council members’ overseas training at that time poured fuel on the fire among angry residents.

All 13 council members had returned by the 5th (six returned early). However, public opinion toward them remains cold. A petition calling for the abolition of overseas training for local council members was also posted on the Blue House’s National Petition website, reflecting this sentiment.

The petitioner, who introduced themselves as a resident of Chungnam, stated, “In a time when the novel coronavirus is spreading worldwide, the attitude of local council chairpersons going on overseas trips (training) is outrageous and cannot be left unaddressed.” They criticized, “Most of their travel routes are typical cultural exploration courses, and the 100 million won spent on expenses all came from taxpayers’ pockets.”

They added, “Local council chairpersons who participated in overseas training should reimburse all expenses and apologize to the public,” and urged, “Please abolish overseas training to prevent such incidents from happening again.”

The backlash against local council members’ overseas training is not limited to Chungnam. For example, the chairman of the Jeonbuk Provincial Council went on a training trip to the three Baltic countries?Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania?from the 29th of last month to the 6th of this month. Due to worsening public opinion, he returned early on the 2nd and is currently facing pressure to resign from his chairmanship.

Additionally, four members of the Gangwon Yeongwol County Council traveled to Portugal and Spain from the 29th of last month to the 5th of this month; 14 members of the Daegu City Council went to the United States, Canada, and Europe from the 28th of last month to the 6th of this month; and eight members of the Gyeongbuk Chilgok County Council traveled to Australia and New Zealand from the 29th of last month to the 7th of this month. All have become targets of criticism.

Most of these local council members traveled overseas during the period when the novel coronavirus was spreading domestically, and their training programs focused mainly on local cultural exploration, which has intensified the criticism.

In response to this public sentiment, a member of the Chungnam Provincial Council said, “I first feel ‘ashamed’ of the national criticism directed at overseas training,” and humbly added, “All members of local councils should deeply reflect and take time to repent over the recurring controversies surrounding overseas training trips every year.”

However, he also said, “That does not mean denying the necessity of overseas training itself,” and explained, “I have personally realized the truth of the saying ‘you see as much as you know’ after overseas training. The training period was a time to consider whether the council and its members are doing well in their local roles and what good systems can be benchmarked from other countries.”

He further suggested, “Rather than focusing only on the negative aspects of overseas training and calling for its abolition, it is important to find ways to utilize related systems effectively and establish them in the field,” and expressed hope that “such discussions will be publicized among many local council members.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.