Former Prime Minister's 80 Million Won Beauty Expenses... "How Far Does Tax Support Go?"

Former Chancellor Merkel's 1 Year 8 Months Beauty Expenses Revealed
German Chancellor's Office Explains "Related to Continuous Official Duties"
"Current Chancellor Scholz Spent 80% More Than Merkel"

In Germany, controversy has arisen over whether taxpayers should cover the 'beauty expenses' of current and former chancellors.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 9th (local time), the German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported that the government spent 55,000 euros (about 80 million KRW) over 1 year and 8 months on beauty expenses for former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who retired in December 2021. Merkel spent 37,780 euros (about 54.7 million KRW) last year and 17,200 euros (about 24.9 million KRW) this year.

The media added that this information was obtained by requesting documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

These costs cover hair styling and makeup when former Chancellor Merkel attends official and private events.

Merkel had a longtime makeup artist, but it is now known that she entrusts her hair and makeup to a hair and makeup artist who runs a private shop in Berlin.

The media reported that when this artist accompanies Merkel’s schedule, other expenses such as accommodation are also covered by public funds.

Regarding this, the German Chancellor’s Office explained, "Whether for public purposes or not, it is related to her continuous performance of official duties."

However, the media pointed out that since Merkel’s side does not provide information about private schedules, it is unclear when and how often she incurs beauty expenses.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Current Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also been revealed to spare no expense on beauty costs.

The German Chancellor’s Office spent 21,808 euros (about 31.58 million KRW) on Scholz’s beauty expenses this year. Last year, it spent 39,910 euros (about 57.8 million KRW).

The amount paid by the Chancellor’s Office to photographers, beauticians, and makeup artists in Scholz’s first year in office last year increased to about 1.5 million euros (about 2.17 billion KRW). This amount also includes accommodation and airfare costs for those accompanying the Chancellor on trips.

This is nearly an 80% increase compared to 2021, the last year of Merkel’s administration.

Recently, there was also controversy after reports that Markus S?der, Minister-President of Bavaria, paid freelance photographers 180,000 euros (about 260 million KRW) last year for promotional purposes.

In response, criticism is growing in Germany over top officials increasing spending on beauty and photography-related expenses.

The local taxpayers’ association strongly criticized the increase in beauty expenses for high-ranking politicians.

Reiner Holznagel, chairman of the taxpayers’ association, said, "It was difficult to make taxpayers understand that they have to cover politicians’ beauty expenses," emphasizing, "Such costs should be minimized and, in suspicious cases, paid personally."

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