With projections that the number of foreign tourists this year could exceed 20 million, the Board of Audit and Inspection found in an audit that inadequate supply-and-demand analysis for lodging facilities for foreigners has raised concerns about a shortage of accommodations.
On the 1st, the Board of Audit and Inspection released the results of its regular audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. According to the board, when the ministry circulated in 2022 the guidelines for establishing the Seventh Regional Tourism Plan to cities and provinces, it required the plan to include a supply-and-demand analysis of lodging facilities in the relevant region and mid- to long-term measures, but it did not present specific standards for the scope and methods of the analysis.
As a result, the audit found that in some cities and provinces, analyses were poorly conducted, with omissions such as not presenting room occupancy rates or statistical reference points.
In particular, even though the Seoul city government made analytical errors—such as applying the increase rate in the number of enterprises (4.79%) instead of the increase rate in the number of rooms (1%)—the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved it without verification. As a result, the Seoul city government and the ministry even produced opposite projections for lodging facility supply for foreign tourists as of 2026. The Seoul city government projected a supply surplus, while the ministry projected a supply shortage.
When the Board of Audit and Inspection recalculated using the room increase rate and room occupancy rate, the analysis showed that if the number of inbound tourists increases to 19.11 million in 2026, the number of tourist hotel rooms will be insufficient. Since the number of foreign tourists this year is already expected to exceed 20 million, the shortage of rooms could materialize sooner than expected.
The Board of Audit and Inspection notified the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to prepare measures to induce cities and provinces to formulate regional plans based on objective supply-and-demand analyses of lodging facilities.
The board also found, after checking the 2023 fees of 31 golf courses receiving tax benefits under the "public golf course system," that 10 exceeded the fee standards, but there were no sanction provisions that would allow administrative action.
In response, the Board of Audit and Inspection notified the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to establish legal grounds under the Sports Facilities Act for sanctions and to prepare effective management measures for user fees.
In addition, the Board of Audit and Inspection caught the expenditures officer at the Korea National University of Arts embezzling about 110 million won in operating expenses, and uncovered cases where authorities neglected to address the operation of real estate rental businesses by hostels or failed to recover loans from the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund even after companies had closed.