Ministry of Justice Refuses to Disclose Han Dong-hoon's US Travel Expenses, Citing "Concerns Over Significant National Interest Harm"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Ministry of Justice rejected a request for information disclosure from a civic group leader demanding the details of Minister Han Dong-hoon's business trip expenses to the United States, citing "concerns about harming national interests."

Ha Seung-soo, head of the Public Interest Law Center Nongbon, revealed on the 23rd that he filed an information disclosure request with the Ministry of Justice to release the execution details and expenditure proof documents of Minister Han's approximately 48 million won US trip expenses, but received a non-disclosure notice the day before.

In the notification, the Ministry of Justice stated, "The execution details of the business trip expenses in this case fall under matters related to national security and diplomatic relations pursuant to Article 9, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Act on Disclosure of Information by Public Agencies. Disclosure may significantly harm the vital interests of the nation; therefore, it will not be disclosed."

Ha posted this notification on his social networking service (SNS), saying, "What secret is there in how much was spent on plane tickets, where and how much was spent on meals, and which hotel was paid for and stayed at?" He added, "If it is legitimate, why can't it be disclosed?" expressing his opposition.

Minister Han traveled to the United States from June 29 to July 7. He met with officials from the World Bank, the United Nations, the US Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to discuss ways to build cooperation and collaboration between Korean and US judicial agencies. Some have raised suspicions about the trip's schedule being too loose, noting that there were three days without any scheduled events during the nine days of the trip.

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