Korea Road Traffic Authority President Stayed in Czech Republic During Germany Trip? Controversy Over 50 Million Won in Wasted Taxpayer Money

[Financial News]   Kim Hee-jung, president of the Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD), has been found to have spent half of a nine-day, seven-night business trip in the Czech Republic after traveling there in May to attend an international conference held in Germany.
According to an SBS report on the 30th, Kim Hee-jung, president of KoROAD, a quasi-governmental agency under the National Police Agency, traveled abroad in May to attend the general assembly of the International Driving License Examination Committee in Dresden, Germany. However, of the nine-day, seven-night itinerary, he spent only three nights in Dresden and the remaining four nights in Prague, Czech Republic.
The report stated that President Kim inspected the Czech Transport Museum and other sites the day after entering Prague. However, it was found that he did not actually visit the museum.
KoROAD explained that it changed the itinerary because of fatigue from the long-haul flight and jet lag, as well as to allow President Kim to familiarize himself with the conference materials. However, the materials consisted of only three pages covering an introduction to KoROAD and the procedures and structure of Korea's driver's license tests.
Minutes from an internal review committee meeting held before the trip revealed that one committee member had questioned the itinerary, saying, "I question whether a visit to the Czech Transport Museum was truly necessary," and, "Wasn't the actual work schedule the international conference in Germany?" The member also pointed out the need to adjust the time spent in the Czech Republic.
KoROAD has attended the annual international license examination conference since 2012. However, for more than a decade, the attendees had been the director of the license examination office or the head of the driver's license division.
This was the first year that a president attended. The trip cost 50.38 million won for four people, including President Kim.
Chae Hyeon-il, a member of the National Assembly's Security and Public Administration Committee from the Democratic Party, criticized the trip, saying, "It has been confirmed that taxpayers' money was wasted through a falsified business-trip report and that this was a typical junket."
Amid the controversy, KoROAD explained that using Prague Airport was more advantageous in terms of travel logistics and airfare. It also said that President Kim attended the trip because it was necessary to directly examine the driver's license systems of various countries.
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter