Court: "Daetongryeonsil Must Disclose Haeundae Private Dinner Party Expenses"

"It Cannot Be Concluded That It Harms National Interests"

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office must disclose the expenses for a private dinner held last April at a sashimi restaurant in Haeundae, Busan, the court ruled.

The Seoul Administrative Court’s Administrative Division 2 (Presiding Judge Shin Myung-hee) ruled on the 8th in favor of the plaintiff, Ha Seung-soo, co-representative of the civic group "Catch the Tax Thieves," in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the presidential office’s refusal to disclose information.

The court stated, "Considering that the dinner has already concluded, and the location, duration, and attendees have been reported by multiple media outlets, it cannot be definitively concluded that information regarding the amount spent and the party responsible for the expenses pertains to matters of national security or defense, and that its disclosure would harm significant national interests."

It added, "Even taking into account the public nature of the president’s duties, it is difficult to view this information as one that would cause significant disruption to the president’s performance of state affairs."

On April 6 last year, President Yoon held a private dinner in Busan with metropolitan government heads and cabinet members to support the bid for the 2030 World Expo. At the time, images were captured showing President Yoon greeting attendees lined up in a row.

Attorney Ha requested disclosure of the amount spent at the dinner, the party responsible for the expenses, and the source of the funds, but the presidential office refused, citing concerns that revealing information related to the president’s schedule could harm significant national interests. Consequently, Ha filed an administrative lawsuit.

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