Lunchbox Bill of 12,000 Won Received by Public Official Who Helped at Jamboree

Anonymous Office Worker Community Post, at the Center of Attention
"How Can They Make Us Work Without Even Providing a Single Lunchbox?"

The incident where public officials dispatched to support the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree were not even provided with meal expenses symbolizes the lack of preparation.

The controversy began when a post by a public official who went out to support cleaning at the Jamboree was uploaded on the anonymous workplace community 'Blind.' The author, who worked in cleaning support on the 4th, said, "We departed at 1 PM and started work at 2 PM. After eating the provided lunchbox for dinner, we worked until 8:30 PM and returned to the office at 9:30 PM," adding, "However, afterward, the support workers were charged 12,000 won for the lunchbox."

The author shared a photo of the lunchbox they ate at the time and lamented, "Is this a 12,000 won lunchbox? How can they make us work without even providing a lunchbox? It's really absurd."

According to a Yonhap News report on the 10th, the Autonomous Administration Division of Jeonbuk Province issued a notice on the 9th, the day after all Scout members withdrew from the Saemangeum campsite, charging public officials who completed support duties for meal expenses.

The notice stated, "Thank you very much for your hard work in the hot weather inspecting Jamboree-related facilities. We apologize for the burden, but each department decided to collect meal expenses from the deployed employees." The 12,000 won meal fee was calculated per department based on the number of participants and was to be transferred to the person in charge's account.

Regarding this, a Jeonbuk Province official said, "Since so many employees were deployed, one department could not bear all the meal expenses. We tried to help as much as possible, knowing the employees' hard work in the hot weather, but there was no legal basis to provide additional support beyond the travel expenses."

They explained that it was not about asking employees to pay out of pocket but about reclaiming meal expenses included in the travel allowance. The official added, "The meal expenses sent by the employees will be used only for settling accounts with the lunchbox vendor."