Jeju International Convention Center, National Assembly, and Jeju Provincial Council's Provincial Audit Committee All "Deceived"

Published 21 Oct.2021 22:29(KST)

Updated 21 Oct.2021 22:30(KST)

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Over 5 Years, 700 Cases Worth Over 10 Billion Won Illegally Executed by MICE Project Office
MICE Planning Office Order Status Omitted in 5 Years of Provincial Assembly Administrative Audits and Provincial Audit Committee Records
False Report in National Assembly Request Materials Claiming "Self-Execution by Contract Manager's Assertion"

Jeju International Convention Center exterior view.

[Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Chang-won] According to data submitted by the Jeju International Convention Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center) to the National Assembly, over the five years from 2015 to 2020, more than 700 cases totaling over 10 billion KRW were executed in violation of the Local Government Contract Act. However, these were omitted from the administrative audit by the Jeju Provincial Council and the regular audit by the Jeju Provincial Audit Committee, raising suspicions of intentional concealment.

Furthermore, in response to inquiries from the National Assembly, the Center replied that “the project office independently proceeded with the contracts based on the claims of the contract manager,” but the contract manager himself denied this, stating “there is no such fact.” When asked for fact verification, the Center only responded that it is “under review,” without providing a clear answer.

The Center, as an institution funded by the province, is required to contract and execute according to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Contracts to which Local Governments are Parties.

Typically, contract department personnel compile requests from each project department and proceed with contracts, but the data submitted to the National Assembly revealed that the MICE Planning Office independently executed over 700 cases worth more than 10 billion KRW over five years without proper grounds.

Moreover, for contracts exceeding 20 million KRW, all companies should be given equal competitive opportunities through the national contract system ‘Nara Marketplace,’ yet there was not a single competitive bidding case in five years. It was also confirmed that the Center split contracts under 20 million KRW to funnel work to specific companies.

A more serious issue is that these details were omitted from reports to supervisory bodies such as the Jeju Provincial Council and the Jeju Provincial Audit Committee, raising suspicions of concealment to hide illegal contracts.

From 2015 to 2020, the administrative audit materials conducted annually by the Jeju Provincial Council and the 2018 audit materials received by the Jeju Provincial Audit Committee did not include contract details from the MICE Planning Office.

When questioned by the National Assembly about the omissions in various audit materials, the response was, “At that time, the person in charge said that PCO (Public Corporation Outsourcing) projects could not undergo external bidding.”

However, the contract manager at the time claimed, “I was unaware of the MICE Planning Office projects for which contracts were not requested, and such a response is false.”

After the contract manager’s opposition, the Center reversed its position and only repeated that it is “under review,” revealing that false answers were given even to the National Assembly.

A representative from the Center’s labor union stated, “The Jeju International Convention Center recorded a deficit of 5.2 billion KRW last year and has accumulated losses of 23.8 billion KRW to date. If unverified expenditures have been made, the facts must be confirmed and punished.”

Meanwhile, An Chang-nam, chairman of the Jeju Provincial Council’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, who heard about this situation, said, “We will verify this during the 2021 administrative audit of the Center on the 22nd.”