Daegu Participation Solidarity stated on the 16th, "According to recent media reports, several local councils in Daegu are either planning or discussing overseas training trips, even as they are embroiled in scandals such as investigations into 'local council business trip corruption.' Specifically, Buk-gu Council and Dalseo-gu Council are reportedly discussing plans for overseas trips despite being under police investigation for the alleged misuse of overseas business trip expenses."
In 2023, the National Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission found that Suseong-gu Council in Daegu had improperly used council administrative funds to cover expenses that should have been paid personally. While there have been no direct cases of misconduct related to overseas training trips uncovered in Jung-gu Council, the local community has voiced significant criticism that the council has failed to fulfill its fundamental role during the ninth term of the local administration. For these reasons, there has been a surge of criticism that it is inappropriate for Jung-gu Council and Suseong-gu Council to proceed with overseas training trips, even if they are not under police investigation.
Daegu Participation Solidarity emphasized, "It is shameless for Buk-gu Council and Dalseo-gu Council, which are directly under investigation, to be discussing overseas training trips. If councils currently under investigation push ahead with such trips, it will only further erode public trust in local councils." The organization urged, "Buk-gu Council and Dalseo-gu Council should cancel their overseas training plans and establish concrete measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents."
Daegu Participation Solidarity also stated, "What Daegu's local councils need right now is not overseas training, but to cooperate faithfully with police investigations and to develop measures to prevent the recurrence of issues revealed by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission's investigations and audits." The organization added, "Even councils that have not caused major scandals should ensure that their overseas training trips are genuinely policy-oriented and strive to set a good example that other councils can refer to in the future."
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