Kim Sang-hwan, president of the Constitutional Court, made a 'spouse-accompanied' trip to Spain last year; spouse's travel expenses totaled 10.31 million won

It has emerged that nearly 10 million won in public funds was used for the travel expenses of Kim Sang-hwan's spouse when the president of the Constitutional Court of Korea brought the spouse along on an official trip to Madrid, Spain, last October.
According to documents the Constitutional Court of Korea submitted on the 3rd to the office of Yoon Sang-hyun, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, Kim Sang-hwan visited Madrid, Spain, for a week starting Oct. 26 last year to attend the General Assembly of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice.
Six people traveled on the trip, including Kim Sang-hwan and his spouse, Constitutional Court Justice Kim Hyungdu, the chief of staff to the president of the Constitutional Court, a constitutional researcher, and an investigator.
The Constitutional Court of Korea spent a total of 58,219,000 won on the trip. Kim Sang-hwan's travel expenses came to 13,368,000 won, while those of the president's spouse totaled 10,313,000 won.
Kim Hyungdu's expenses amounted to 12,962,000 won, followed by 11,273,000 won for the chief of staff, 5,602,000 won for the constitutional researcher, and 4,701,000 won for the investigator.
The Constitutional Court of Spain stated in its invitation, "Each delegation may consist of up to four people, including accompanying persons or security personnel."
The Constitutional Court of Korea maintains that bringing a spouse was in line with established practice for attending the assembly. The Court said that the spouses of its presidents had accompanied them to previous assemblies of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice and that the hosts had approved two additional members for this trip.
Regarding the term 'accompanying persons' used in the invitation, the Constitutional Court of Korea said it is also used to refer to spouses in Europe, where same-sex marriage and similar arrangements are commonplace.
The Constitutional Court of Korea explained that the six-member delegation, rather than the four initially indicated, reflected Kim Hyungdu's status as a full member of the Venice Commission. Normally, four delegates are invited to the assembly, but when a full member of the Venice Commission attends, two additional people—the member and an accompanying researcher—may join.
 
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