[2020 National Audit] 'Diplomatic Missions Drowning in Alcohol'... 92,000 Bottles Consumed Over 5 Years

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] It has been confirmed that more than 92,000 bottles of alcoholic beverages were consumed over the past five years at Korean overseas diplomatic missions installed in 147 countries worldwide.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Tae Young-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the People Power Party, the total amount of alcohol consumed by overseas missions over the past five years was 92,415 bottles.

Assuming 52 weeks per year and a 5-day workweek, this equates to consuming 71 bottles of alcohol per day over five years (1,300 days). The reported alcohol consumption by overseas missions was purchased using budgets allocated from taxpayers' money.

The mission that consumed the most alcohol was the Korean Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Over the past five years, the total alcohol consumption was 8,168 bottles, which, calculated on a 5-day workweek, amounts to up to 6.2 bottles per day. The Mongolian embassy consumed 1,720 bottles in 2016, 3,632 bottles in 2017, 1,787 bottles in 2018, and 417 bottles up to August this year. In 2017, based on 260 working days (5 days per week), the daily consumption was about 14 bottles.

The Saudi Arabian Embassy consumed 3,987 bottles, the Kuwaiti Embassy consumed 2,722 bottles including 45 bottles of Chamisul, the Brunei Embassy consumed 2,722 bottles, and the Singapore Embassy consumed 2,649 bottles, following behind. On the other hand, the Rwandan Embassy and the Philippine Embassy consumed only one bottle of alcohol each over five years.

The types of alcohol also varied greatly by mission. At the Korean Embassy in Mongolia, which consumed the most alcohol, half of the 8,168 bottles (4,013 bottles) were beer, whereas at the British Embassy, 1,681 out of 1,802 bottles were wine.

Representative Tae stated, "All alcohol consumed at overseas missions is purchased using budgets allocated from taxpayers' money," and added, "The Minister of Foreign Affairs should devise and implement inspection measures, even if through untact (contactless) methods."

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