"Presidential Office Special Activity Expenses and Meal Costs Disclosure"... Taxpayers' Federation Files Administrative Lawsuit

Lawsuit Filed Over Refusal to Disclose Special Activity Expenses of the Presidential Office

A civic group has filed an administrative lawsuit against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, demanding the disclosure of the details of special activity expenses (teukhwalbi) and the costs of meals and movie viewings on specific dates. This group had previously filed an administrative lawsuit against the Moon Jae-in administration, demanding the disclosure of the Blue House's special activity expenses, including the clothing expenses of First Lady Kim Jung-sook.

The Korea Taxpayers Federation (the Federation) submitted a lawsuit to cancel the refusal of information disclosure against the Chief of the Presidential Secretariat to the Seoul Administrative Court on the 14th.

In May 13 of last year, the Federation requested information disclosure regarding the dinner expenses reportedly amounting to 4.5 million won spent by President Yoon at a Korean restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul; the expenses incurred when President Yoon and his wife watched the movie "Broker" at a theater in Seoul on June 12 of last year; and the details of the special activity expenses of the Presidential Office since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

However, the Presidential Office refused to disclose the information, citing reasons such as potential national security and security issues if the information were to be released. In response, the Federation filed an administrative appeal in October of the same year to cancel the non-disclosure decision by the Presidential Office, but it was dismissed.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee are seated with popcorn on the afternoon of June 12 last year at Megabox Seongsu in Seoul, watching the movie 'Broker.' / Photo by the Presidential Office

Meanwhile, the Federation also filed a lawsuit against the Chief of the Presidential Secretariat of the Moon Jae-in administration, demanding the disclosure of special activity expenses, including the clothing expenses of First Lady Kim Jung-sook, and won a partial victory in the first trial. However, the then-government appealed the ruling, and the appeal process is currently ongoing.

The Taxpayers Federation stated, "Despite numerous media reports and eyewitness accounts revealing the movements and circumstances of the relevant dates, the government is unreasonably linking this to national security and national interests," adding, "It is difficult to accept the refusal of information disclosure by unilaterally prioritizing the protection of the privacy of public officials performing their duties with the nation's budget and taxpayers' money."

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