Cheonan City Council Faces Controversy Over Another Overseas Study Tour Accused of Being a Leisure Trip

Visit to Turkey and Croatia from the 11th to the 20th of next month
Chairman Jeong Do-hee: "Will strive to assist Cheonan city administration"

Cheonan City Council has once again fallen into controversy over overseas trips for leisure as it announced a large-scale overseas business trip.

The Cheonan City Council in Chungnam has once again fallen into controversy over overseas trips as it announced a large-scale foreign business trip.

According to the Cheonan City Council on the 30th, they will visit T?rkiye and Croatia from the 11th to the 20th of next month. Among the 27 city council members, 23 will participate in this trip, accompanied by 9 council staff members. The cost is 5.6 million KRW per person, with a total budget of 179.2 million KRW.

The city council explained that this trip will serve as an opportunity to activate exchanges of regional events with the T?rkiye B?y?kkmece City Hall, which is an international friendship exchange city with Cheonan, and to lay the foundation for establishing sister city relationships.

Additionally, they stated that there will be effects such as attracting the National Dental Science Institute through benchmarking advanced medical tourism projects, establishing a linkage system to promote exports of local dental material manufacturers, and expanding various cooperation opportunities by enhancing Cheonan’s international image.

However, some critics argue that this trip is a ‘team-building event’ aimed at resolving the intensified tensions between the ruling and opposition parties during the budget approval process at the end of last year, as it comes just before the halfway point of the 9th council.

The destinations, except for B?y?kkmece City Hall and the council, include museums, universities, and national parks, leading to criticism that the trip is more of a leisure tour.

This is not the first time the Cheonan City Council has faced controversy over leisure trips.

In 2018, all 25 city council members went on an overseas trip to the western United States, and it was later revealed that they visited Las Vegas, which was not part of the official schedule, and watched some shows, sparking controversy.

Also, in 2019, a foreign trip to France and Spain by 10 city council members and 3 staff members, citing the construction of the Korea Football Comprehensive Center, was embroiled in controversy over leisure travel. The itinerary at that time included many tourist spots such as the Louvre Museum, Bateau Mouche (Seine River cruise), Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacred Heart Basilica, Park G?ell, Boqueria traditional market, Casa Mil?, Sagrada Fam?lia, Montju?c Hill, Pla?a de Catalunya, Benedictine Monastery, and Basilica Cathedral.

Jeong Do-hee, chairman of the Cheonan City Council, said, “This overseas training was conducted upon the official invitation of B?y?kkmece City and was accepted diplomatically as it had to be canceled last year due to the Itaewon tragedy.” He added, “Since Zagreb City in Croatia already has exchanges with the Chungnam Provincial Council, the Cheonan City Council also decided to proceed for international exchange.”

He continued, “Also, if overseas training is conducted by each standing committee separately, the cost would inevitably be higher, so we planned it so that as many council members as possible could participate,” and said, “We will prepare the overseas training thoroughly and strive to help Cheonan’s administration.”