Assemblyman Lee Byung-hoon: "Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Regional Relocation Agencies Pay 11.8 Billion Won Monthly Rent for Seoul Offices"

Lee Byung-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul), raised his voice, stating that all eight public institutions under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) that were relocated to the provinces still own and operate buildings and offices in Seoul, paying an annual rental cost of 11.8 billion KRW.

According to the national audit data submitted by the MCST to Assemblyman Lee on the 16th, as part of the government's national balanced development policy, since 2007, the relocation of 153 institutions to 10 innovation cities nationwide was promoted, and by the end of December 2019, all targeted institutions had completed their relocation to the provinces.

Among the 31 public institutions under the MCST, the eight institutions subject to relocation began moving in September 2013 with the Film Rating Board's relocation to Busan, followed by the Korea Film Council (October 2013, Busan), Game Rating and Administration Committee (December 2013, Busan), Arts Council Korea (May 2014, Naju), Korea Creative Content Agency (May 2014, Naju), Korea Tourism Organization (December 2014, Wonju), Korea Copyright Commission (June 2015, Jinju), and Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency (July 2015, Jeonju).

However, despite more than ten years since the relocation to the provinces, all eight relocated institutions still own and operate buildings and offices with a total floor area of 94,243㎡ in Seoul and the metropolitan area, deploying 260 resident personnel to maintain these facilities and paying approximately 11.8 billion KRW annually in rental costs.

The Korea Creative Content Agency pays nearly 9.9 billion KRW in rental costs to operate buildings and offices totaling 58,178㎡ across seven locations in Gangnam-gu, Jung-gu, Dongdaemun-gu, and Mapo-gu in Seoul. The Korea Tourism Organization operates a Seoul office to retain 42 staff members from its original headquarters and has been found to provide undue benefits, such as renting out buildings for the founding ceremonies of conservative groups, which are not stipulated in regulations.

In the case of the Arts Council Korea, core projects such as the operation of the Arts Archive, Human Resources Development Institute, and Arts Theater, covering a total floor area of 26,212㎡, are conducted in Seoul. Of its 266 employees, 118?nearly half?are stationed in Seoul, undermining the purpose of the provincial relocation.

Additionally, the Korea Copyright Commission pays 900 million KRW annually to maintain buildings located in Yongsan-gu and Jung-gu, and the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency pays about 700 million KRW annually for operating two buildings in Mapo-gu. The Film Rating Board, despite having no resident personnel, has spent 80 million KRW annually renting a 48-pyeong (approximately 158㎡) office for meetings and training purposes.

Assemblyman Lee Byung-hoon emphasized, “Public institutions relocated to the provinces are wasting taxpayers' money by maintaining buildings and personnel in Seoul or leaving core functions in Seoul, which defeats the purpose of relocating public institutions to the provinces. Unnecessary existing headquarters buildings should be sold promptly, and resident personnel in Seoul and the metropolitan area should be minimized to reduce unnecessary expenditures. These institutions must settle in their respective regions and establish themselves as representative regional institutions.”

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