Business Class Hotel at 7.35 Million Won... Public Institution's 'Emperor Business Trip'

Democratic Party Lawmaker Park Young-soon Points Out Issues at Industry Committee Audit

Employees of the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-sure) have been accused of taking "emperor trips," receiving overseas travel expenses from companies subject to trade insurance reviews, flying business class on airplanes, and staying in suites costing over 900,000 KRW per night.

On the 13th, Park Young-soon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed this out during the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Enterprises Committee audit.

According to Representative Park, K-sure employees did not follow the corporation’s travel expense regulations, which are based on government official travel expense rules, and over the past five years, they received overseas travel expenses for 123 trips from business operators.

President Lee In-ho of Korea Trade Insurance Corporation
Photo by Yonhap News

Looking at the travel cases of K-sure employees presented by Representative Park, two deputy managers from K-sure who went on a 3-night, 4-day business trip to the United Kingdom from October 12 to 15 last year each flew business class and stayed at a luxury hotel in London, spending 7,344,277 KRW on accommodation.

Also, a team leader and a deputy manager from K-sure who traveled from October 16 to 20 of the same year used business class seats and spent 2,217,296 KRW on lodging at a hotel in London.

K-sure’s travel expense regulations stipulate that employees, including grade 1 and 2 staff, must use economy class for airfare. Accommodation costs are also limited to $240 to $300 per night based on the region with the highest cost. Calculated at an exchange rate of 1,336 KRW, this amounts to approximately 320,000 to 400,000 KRW per day.

Representative Park stated, "Among 13 randomly selected travelers, except for two assistant managers, all 11, including team leaders (grade 3) and deputy managers (grade 4), flew business class on their trips."

He also claimed, "During the UK trip, a grade 4 team member flew business class and stayed in a suite costing 910,000 KRW per night, with all these expenses borne by the business operator."

He pointed out, "The reason such emperor trips are possible is due to the travel standards established by the corporation’s headquarters director’s approval."

Furthermore, Representative Park demanded, "Since this may go beyond financial sector practices and potentially violate current laws, please submit all 123 business operator-funded trips to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission for review and take appropriate measures, including an internal investigation and system inspection."

In response, Lee In-ho, president of K-sure, said, "We will consider the points raised, review the overall situation, and check the facts including the relevant standards of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission before providing a response."

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