The government’s supplementary budget intended to respond to the Middle East conflict reportedly included funding for a program that would grant Chinese tourists benefits worth 400,000 KRW (about $300) per person, sparking allegations. Opposition critics seized on the claim, while government officials have denied it, and the dispute appears to be escalating.
◆Government: Not cash support…proposal not reflected in final budget vs. Opposition: You altered it only after the controversy
On April 8, Budget Office Minister Park Hong-geun and Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young appeared before the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget Finalization to rebut the People Power Party’s assertions as unfounded.
The day before, People Power lawmaker Jo Eun-hee told the committee that the supplementary budget contained a 10 billion KRW (about $7,500,000) line for a “China-origin charter flight–linked local tourism package” program, which she characterized as effectively equivalent to issuing 400,000 KRW (about $300) discount coupons to each Chinese tourist.
On the 8th, Minister Choi rejected the charge, saying, “The government’s supplementary budget proposal does not contain any provision to give 400,000 KRW (about $300) to Chinese tourists. The China-origin linked regional tourism package is budgeted to develop domestic regional tourism products and to support travel agencies; it is not a cash payment of a fixed amount to individual tourists.”
He said that the project Jo cited had indeed been requested to the Budget Office during the preparation process, but officials judged it inappropriate and did not include it in the final proposal.
Minister Choi acknowledged the embarrassment, adding, “We regret that some initial, unnecessary draft content remained in the government’s supplementary budget materials.”
Lawmaker Jo pressed the point, saying, “The budget line to support foreign tourists is clearly present in the government’s official supplementary budget documents. They obscured the exact support amounts, which made it hard to spot. Of the 30.6 billion KRW (about $22,950,000) earmarked to expand the Greater China market, 10 billion KRW (about $7,500,000) was allocated to the China-origin charter flight–linked local tourism product support. The matching local funds of 10 billion KRW are absent. The documents also list giving 50,000 KRW (about $37.50) each to 200,000 people.”
She continued, “After yesterday’s controversy in the Assembly, they likely revised the budget in discussions with the Budget Office, but now they claim they couldn’t remove the item from the materials submitted to the Assembly. They call it Korea-origin China-linked charter flight tourism products, but the Tourism Organization would pay through Chinese airlines and Korean travel agencies. That ultimately funnels a 400,000 KRW (about $300) benefit to each Chinese tourist.”
◆“Political motive — apologize” — opposition erupts after minister’s remark
Budget Office Minister Park strongly denied the allegation and demanded an apology from lawmaker Jo.
Minister Park said, “The responsible ministry’s minister already explained this. Persisting in the claim that we planned to provide 400,000 KRW (about $300) per person suggests a political motive. This was a proposal from the Culture Ministry that we did not reflect during budget formulation and review.”
He added, “The supplementary budget materials submitted to the Assembly include the full description. They proposed planning 10 programs across 20 cities without direct flights and offering 50 million KRW (about $37,500) in support per program. These initiatives are tied to local food destinations in the south, professional baseball, and similar projects.”
Park continued, “Even after we explained the details today, if they keep denying it, how will the public interpret this? Saying ‘the Culture Ministry deceived the Budget Office’ is an insulting remark. I believe lawmaker Jo should apologize for that.”
Park’s comments drew audible protests from opposition lawmakers at the hearing.
The government’s supplementary budget submitted to the Assembly included 30.6 billion KRW (about $22,950,000) for an “Inbound Tourism Marketing Activation Support Program” to expand the Greater China market. Of that amount, the China-origin charter flight–linked local tourism package project was initially budgeted at 10 billion KRW (about $7,500,000).
The People Power Party derided the project as a “carry-the-luggage” budget, mocking items that list installing welcome booths for Chinese visitors at major airports and ports (1 billion KRW, about $750,000) and funding luggage-carrying services (1.5 billion KRW, about $1,125,000).
The controversy prompted allegations that the government had included items inconsistent with the supplementary budget’s purpose and that the plan offered excessive benefits to Chinese tourists.
Ultimately, the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee approved a revised budget that cut related funding by 2.5 billion KRW (about $1,875,000), leaving a total of 28.1 billion KRW (about $21,075,000).
