Controversy over former Korea Communications Standards Commission Chairperson Ryu Hee-rim's trip to Google in the United States last year continues in this regular session of the National Assembly. The National Assembly's Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee demanded compensation for former Chairperson Ryu's U.S. travel expense, but the settlement of account subcommittee of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts put it on hold, saying "there is no precedent."
According to political circles on the 10th, the National Assembly's Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee proceeded with the 2024 fiscal year settlement of account early this month and voted to take compensation action over former Chairperson Ryu's 2024 U.S. travel expense. The committee instructed, "The Korea Communications Commission should take responsible measures, including recovery, for the travel costs without results related to former Chairperson Ryu's overseas trip."
The trip in question was a U.S. trip from May 14, 2024, for five days and three nights. At the time, after a murder occurred during a YouTube live stream, former Chairperson Ryu visited Google's U.S. headquarters to demand that Google swiftly delete and block illegal and harmful content. Before Ryu even returned to Korea, the Korea Communications Standards Commission quickly issued a press release announcing that Google had promised to "delete illegal YouTube content as quickly as possible."
But after Google Korea visited the commission to lodge a complaint, and it later emerged that former Chairperson Ryu struck the table during a meeting with a Google vice president, questions were raised about the outcome of the meeting. The controversy grew after a letter from the Google vice president whom Ryu met was released, denying the commission's announcement.
While demanding compensation for former Chairperson Ryu's U.S. travel expense, the Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee said, "(Former Chairperson Ryu) failed to meet the person in charge of YouTube, there was no explicit written record of an agreement between the commission and Google, and there were objections over raising one's voice at a Google official during the process." Ryu's spending on the U.S. trip was reportedly around 11 million won.
The compensation motion for former Chairperson Ryu's travel expense, which passed the Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee, was halted at the settlement of account subcommittee of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts held on 4th. As the subcommittee finalized the settlements of account for each ministry handled by the standing committees, opposition lawmakers raised objections.
Rep. Cho Jeong-hun of the People Power Party said, "Has there ever been a case where a public official had to compensate travel expenses because they failed to achieve the purpose of the trip?" adding, "We need to determine whether inflating a travel report makes it subject to compensation." Rep. Kim Dae-sik of the People Power Party added, "Even presidential overseas trips sometimes have no results."
Ruling party lawmakers explained that there was a committee-level view that former Chairperson Ryu's U.S. trip itself lacked results and that action was needed over the preparation of a false report. Rep. Lee So-young of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "If there was unlawful and unjust exercise of official duty and, as a result, budget expenditure was wasted or losses occurred, it is common sense to hold someone responsible for compensation," adding, "If you look into this matter, there were not only issues with preparing a simple false report, but also with meeting a foreign corporations and banging on the table and scolding, which were also raised."
Rep. Noh Jong-myeon of the Democratic Party also said, "The Google vice president Markham Erickson whom former Chairperson Ryu met has nothing to do with the commission's work," adding, "We view there was intent because the trip was conducted in a way that did not match the purpose."
Officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and expert staffers of the budget committee who attended the settlement of account subcommittee said compensation measures for travel expenses are unusual. A Finance Ministry official answered, "The public servant travel guidelines likely do not even contain a provision for compensation," and an expert staffer of the budget committee also said, "If overpayment or illegality is confirmed, compensation can be sought, but demanding compensation related to travel expenses appears to be unusual."
As the controversy continued, the settlement of account subcommittee decided to put the matter on hold without reaching a conclusion. Park Hyeong-su, a People Power Party lawmaker who chairs the subcommittee, said, "If there are almost no cases where a compensation measure was taken, we should be cautious," adding, "We need to first examine the facts to determine whether the purpose was improper and review the matter closely."