[2022 National Audit] "Serious Moral Hazard Among Overseas Employees of the Korea Tourism Organization"

Over 30 Cases of Drunk Driving and More Caught in the Past 2 Years
"Most Punishments Are Mild, Such as Cautions, Warnings, and Corrections"

The Korea Tourism Organization has been found to have repeatedly issued lenient punishments despite being aware of the moral laxity among its overseas employees.

According to data released on the 17th by Kim Yoon-duk, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party, the Korea Tourism Organization's overseas branches caused more than thirty incidents of misconduct last year and this year alone. These included drunk driving, unfair profits from selling company vehicles, fraudulent receipt of bonuses, and private use of official vehicles.

One employee stationed in Fukuoka, Japan, was caught by Japanese police last year for drinking alcohol and driving an official vehicle locally. He was arrested after refusing a breathalyzer test and was fined. This incident was even reported by a local private broadcaster in Japan.

An employee at the U.S. branch acquired a company-leased official vehicle at a low price after the lease period ended and sold it to others, earning approximately 12 million KRW in unfair profits. The Korea Tourism Organization issued only a mild disciplinary action of a "warning," citing no financial loss.

Assemblyman Kim criticized, "Moral laxity, both large and small, such as private use of official vehicles, improper bonus payments, misuse of meal expenses, and failure to pay traffic fines, has appeared across overseas branches, but disciplinary measures have been limited to caution, warning, correction, and improvement." He added, "Isn't this just protecting their own?" He expressed regret, saying, "While most employees work hard to promote Tourism Korea, a few employees lower the national dignity and dampen overall morale."

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