Public Institution Permanent Auditors' Trip to Canada for 'Conference'
The itinerary of permanent auditors from domestic public institutions who attended the 'World Auditors Conference' held in Toronto, Canada last week is causing controversy.
According to a report by JTBC on the 24th, this trip, which had 127 participants from 56 public institutions including the Bank of Korea, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and the National Pension Service, was ostensibly an academic event to learn the latest internal audit techniques, but it turned out to be filled with tourism and shopping, effectively a 'non-business trip.'
The 'World Auditors Conference,' held annually with the pretense of learning the latest internal audit techniques, took place from July 14 to 16 this year in Toronto, Canada.
From the publicly released itinerary, only conference schedules were visible, with no other external activities listed at all.
However, a confidential itinerary shared in the group KakaoTalk chat room of the participants was quite different from the public schedule.
According to the confidential itinerary obtained by JTBC, both Saturday and Sunday were completely packed with sightseeing activities.
After arriving at Toronto International Airport, the group moved to the city to visit the 'Distillery District,' once North America's largest whiskey distillery complex, and the next day included a cruise schedule at Niagara Falls starting in the morning.
On Wednesday afternoon, during the weekday, there was a planned visit to the Toronto Premium Outlet.
The World Auditors Conference lasts for two nights and three days, but it has been confirmed that they arrived in Canada two days early and effectively enjoyed a trip.
The confidential itinerary is reported to have been confiscated by the Korean Audit Association immediately after arriving at Toronto Airport.
When inquiries began, many participants claimed, "We didn't go to Niagara Falls," denying their participation in the sightseeing activities, but the obtained confidential itinerary and testimonies from those involved contradict this.
Tax-Funded 'Lavish Non-Business Trip' Worth 8 Million Won
The travel expenses amounted to about 8 million won per person, funded through public institution budgets, meaning taxpayers' money was used.
Most of the permanent auditors who participated in this trip were appointed under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
Criticism has arisen that many of the participants were individuals previously criticized for 'parachute appointments' and 'scooped appointments' under the Yoon Suk-yeol government.
It seems that a significant number of these individuals went on this 'non-business trip' despite having little time left in their terms.
Moreover, there was internal testimony suggesting that they took two separate aircraft because there weren’t enough business class seats.
An official from a public institution stated to JTBC, "There were too many auditors going, and the Audit Association should have secured seats in advance but couldn't. So, there ended up being two planes. They had to bring all the auditors back," explaining the situation.
Currently, it is understood that permanent auditors flew business class while the audit staff traveled in economy class, but it has not yet been confirmed whether all permanent auditors used business class.
Naver TV 'JTBC News'
Image source: jtbc, reference photos for article understanding / gettyimagesbank
