Lee Jun-seok on the report of "140 million won party funds for Ukraine visit": "Such attacks are despicable"

Reported Amount of Party Funds Used "Someone's Prank"
"Leaking Data for Political Attack, Feeling Disgusted"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th, showing a serious expression during the meeting. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, criticized reports that he spent 140 million KRW during his visit to Ukraine last month, saying "Someone is playing a prank."

On the 26th, Lee stated on Facebook, "After joking about the corporate card 'limit' of 20 million KRW, now someone is playing a prank regarding the costs of the Ukraine visit."

Earlier, an online media outlet reported that 11 members of the People Power Party special delegation spent 144.58 million KRW of party funds during their 6-night, 7-day visit to Ukraine last month.

Lee said, "It is natural to use party funds when visiting Ukraine at the invitation of the opposing party, and the schedule follows the invitation itinerary," adding, "Seeing attempts to leak such information to politically attack is disheartening."

He also explained, "There are no direct flights to Ukraine, so when going to Warsaw, we flew via Istanbul, and on the way back via Doha, with airfare exceeding 8 million KRW per person. It was difficult to get connecting flights, so the members flew economy class during the long flights, and from Warsaw to Ukraine, the entire delegation traveled together by bus, entering the dangerous area by land for over 10 hours."

He stated, "The accounting details are strictly managed, and unless the media hacked the system, the highest-ranking official who received last month's accounting report must have passed this information to the media," adding, "Attempting such attacks is disgraceful."

Lee said, "Since becoming the leader, I have refused the Carnival car and driver provided by the party and have used public transportation or my own car," concluding, "There is nothing to gain by attacking me over this."