Election Commission Took 107 Overseas Trips in 5 Years... Spent 2.4 Billion Won of Taxpayers' Money Lavishly

Data Released by Assemblyman Kim's Office

24 Billion Won Spent, 461 Employees Dispatched Over Five Years

Controversy Over Overlapping Trips and Inadequate Trip Reports

The Central Election Commission has spent approximately 2.4 billion won on a total of 107 overseas business trips over the past five years. Destinations included popular resort areas such as the Maldives and Kota Kinabalu, and there were also instances of repeated visits to the same locations for similar purposes.

Yonhap News Agency

According to data submitted by Assemblyman Kim Kimoon of the People Power Party to the Central Election Commission on June 17, a total of 461 commission employees went on 107 overseas business trips from 2022 to June this year.

Until now, the Central Election Commission had not disclosed its overseas travel budget or detailed execution records, citing its constitutional status as an independent agency. However, amid growing calls for scrutiny of the commission’s overall operations following the recent ballot paper shortage crisis, related data has now been released.

Central Election Commission located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The total budget allocated for overseas business trips amounted to around 2.45 billion won. By year, the spending was 800 million won for 29 trips in 2022, 690 million won for 30 trips in 2023, 340 million won for 20 trips in 2024, 600 million won for 26 trips in 2025, and 33 million won for 2 trips so far this year.

Some of the travel destinations were countries renowned for their resorts. In September 2023, the commission sent five employees to the Maldives to observe the presidential election, spending about 14.7 million won. In November of the same year, five employees were dispatched to Thailand, Malaysia, and Kota Kinabalu to inspect preparations for overseas voting, with around 19.2 million won spent.

There were also cases of repeated visits to the same locations. In 2023, nine employees were sent to Florence and Venice in Italy for capacity building, with about 30 million won spent. Subsequently, in 2025, five employees visited Florence for the same purpose, spending 22.9 million won. Previously, in 2022, ten employees traveled to Florence and Milan, and the resulting report included details about visits to the Duomo Cathedral, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Vatican.

There were even instances where business trip schedules overlapped. From November 2 to 9 last year, six employees were sent to Estonia, incurring expenses of about 21 million won. On the day they returned, another group of four employees embarked on a trip to Estonia and Germany, spending around 73 million won from the budget.

The quality of the trip reports has also come under criticism. Last year, the commission dispatched six employees to Japan to analyze its postal and shipboard voting systems, but the report only offered general observations, such as, "While the election systems of Japan and Korea are broadly similar, operational differences exist due to political and cultural environments."

Assemblyman Kim stated, "If overseas business trips are funded by taxpayers’ money, it is the duty of public officials to ensure their schedules serve public purposes," adding, "Even while facing criticism for poor election management, the commission has continued to manage overseas trips in a lax manner."

He further emphasized, "With growing public distrust surrounding the commission, there is a pressing need for a thorough investigation not only into poor election management but also into all aspects of budget execution, including overseas business trips."

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