Lee Ju-yeol, Governor of the Bank of Korea, Had 47.72 Million KRW in Business Expenses... 2 Overseas Trips Last Year

Offline Events Plummet Due to COVID... Falling Short of 50 Million Won

Governor Lee Ju-yeol of the Bank of Korea's press conference held online due to COVID-19
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] Last year, due to the impact of COVID-19, with no offline events such as overseas business trips, the business promotion expenses of Lee Ju-yeol, Governor of the Bank of Korea, did not even reach 50 million KRW.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 16th, Governor Lee spent a total of 47,719,000 KRW on business promotion expenses such as office expenses and entertainment expenses throughout 2020. Compared to 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19 (53,429,000 KRW), this is about 5.71 million KRW less.

The largest reduction in Governor Lee's business promotion expenses last year was in "meetings and events for monetary policy promotion," which amounted to 7,349,000 KRW. This is nearly 2 million KRW less than the previous year (9,290,000 KRW). It is explained that costs inevitably decreased as many external events could not be held due to the COVID-19 impact. Last year, Governor Lee had only two overseas business trips: the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Board of Directors and Governors meeting in January, and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in February. In 2019, there were 12 overseas trips, but last year most overseas schedules were handled using real-time video conferencing systems.

Additionally, 19.3 million KRW was spent on 193 occasions for congratulatory and condolence expenses, averaging 100,000 KRW per occasion. In 2019, Governor Lee spent 23.6 million KRW on 236 occasions, with the same amount spent per occasion. Four years ago, the amount per occasion was 140,000 KRW, but it was reduced to about 100,000 KRW following the enactment of the Kim Young-ran Act, also known as the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

For policy-related meetings and consultations, 12,362,000 KRW was spent over 46 occasions, and 8,708,000 KRW over 28 occasions for business consultations with related organizations.

Governor Lee, who began his term in April 2014, had business promotion expenses close to 95.55 million KRW in 2015, early in his term. Compared to 2015, his business promotion expenses have been reduced by half. Spending has been continuously cut, and the COVID-19 impact allowed for further significant reductions.

The Bank of Korea Deputy Governor's business promotion expenses totaled 20,801,000 KRW last year, down 1,561,000 KRW from the previous year (22,362,000 KRW).

A Bank of Korea official explained, "The significant reduction in business trips and offline events due to the COVID-19 impact" and added, "Unused budgeted amounts for business promotion expenses are recorded as unexecuted and returned to the government."

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