Went on Business Trip with Taxpayer Money… Flew All the Way to UK Just for a Video Conference?

[Anchor]

Executives and employees of the Korea Water Resources Corporation went on an overseas business trip to Liverpool, UK, under the pretext of signing a business agreement with the Ukrainian side a few years ago. Tens of millions of won in taxpayers' money was spent, but it was belatedly revealed that they only held a video conference after going all the way to the UK. The Ministry of Climate and Environment, which audited the corporation, pointed out that they "wasted budget on a sightseeing-style trip."

This is an exclusive report by reporter Kim Bo-mi.

[Reporter]

In late July 2023, the Korea Water Resources Corporation issued a press release stating that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to Ukraine's reconstruction projects with UHE, a Ukrainian public institution for hydropower generation.

It stated that they met in Liverpool, UK, with figures including officials from the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce.

However, according to the audit results of the corporation by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment obtained by SBS, it was confirmed that the officials from UHE and the Chamber of Commerce, who were the counterparts for the MOU at the time, did not come to Liverpool.

The people in the press release photos were Ukrainian lawmakers unrelated to the MOU.

The actual MOU signing photo only shows two officials from the corporation side.

The signing of the two MOUs was conducted via "video conference."

The 6-day, 4-night business trip to Liverpool by six corporation executives and employees cost approximately 60 million won in budget.

The audit results revealed that out of nine schedules initially proposed in the business trip plan, five, including meetings with the Ukrainian delegation, were not conducted at all, and instead, they toured the University of Liverpool, which was unrelated to the reconstruction project.

In the audit disposition request, the ministry pointed out that "unnecessary official business trips were made all the way to Liverpool, UK, to sign an MOU that could have been participated in via video from Korea," adding that "they wasted the corporation's budget on sightseeing-style schedules."

The corporation issued only a warning to a division head-level standing director among the travelers, and took disciplinary action of reprimand against a Grade 2 manager in charge for lax work management.

[Lee Jong-bae / National Assembly Climate and Labor Committee Member (People Power Party): (We must prevent this) by having the Overseas Business Travel Screening Committee thoroughly and strictly review things in advance to prevent the waste of public taxpayer money.]

The corporation explained that they originally designated Liverpool as the MOU signing location because the Ukrainian delegation was scheduled to attend an international event there, but "the employees who went on the trip learned only after arriving locally that it became difficult for the Ukrainian side to travel to the UK due to their circumstances."

However, they stated that such details were discussed verbally and there are no separate evidentiary documents.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Shin Dong-hwan and Kim Nam-sung | Video by Lee Seung-jin | Graphics by Seohyun Cho
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.