[2025 Audit] Cultural Heritage Administration's Egypt ODA Project Faces Allegations of 'Conflict of Interest Through Personal Connections'

Professor Who Conducted Feasibility Study Became Lead Researcher for Project Team
Cultural Heritage Administration Chief: "Audit Underway"

Yonhap News Agency

The Cultural Heritage Administration has come under criticism for the inadequate procedures and management system of its Official Development Assistance (ODA) project in the field of cultural heritage currently underway in Egypt. The agency has acknowledged the seriousness of the matter and is currently conducting an internal audit.

On October 16, Assemblyman Kim Jaewon raised concentrated questions regarding suspicions surrounding the ODA project to establish a Digital Heritage Center during the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit. He stated, "The Cultural Heritage Administration has no prior experience in carrying out ODA projects," and argued, "During the process of promoting a project worth several billion won, a structural problem arose in which oversight and execution became entangled through personal connections."

The Cultural Heritage Administration began assessing the feasibility of the project in 2022 and has been implementing it over a five-year period from 2023 to 2027. The project is being carried out by the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, a specialized university under the agency.

Assemblyman Kim raised the possibility of a conflict of interest during the feasibility study. He pointed out that a professor from the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage who participated in the study later became the lead researcher for the university’s industry-academic cooperation group that won the project, and that a working-level official from the Cultural Heritage Administration also transferred to the department where the professor worked and is now participating as a co-researcher in the same group.

Yonhap News Agency

In addition, although the project aimed to build a database of more than 30,000 digitized documentary heritage records last year with a budget of 2.4 billion won, an interim inspection revealed issues such as delays in equipment transportation. Assemblyman Kim emphasized, "The project structure itself is a complex issue involving a combination of conflict of interest, oversight failure, and performance manipulation," and insisted that not only an internal audit but also an external investigation should be considered.

Heo Min, the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, stated, "I initiated an internal investigation as soon as I took office, and an audit is currently underway," adding, "If any inappropriate matters are discovered, we will request an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection or refer the case to investigative authorities." He continued, "After the parliamentary audit, we plan to conduct an on-site investigation in Egypt led by the deputy administrator and will respond according to the results."

Kang Kyunghwan, president of the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, said, "We will take necessary measures based on the results of the Cultural Heritage Administration’s audit."