South Korean government defends budget used for Kim Hye-kyung's overseas events

The South Korean presidential office and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have rejected allegations that excessive government funds were used for cultural events attended by First Lady Kim Hye-kyung. The controversy arose following claims by National Assembly member Kim Seok-ki, who cited data showing that approximately 1.41 billion won was spent on nine overseas cultural events attended by Kim alone between September last year and July this year.

Critics pointed out that this amount significantly exceeds the budgets allocated for events attended by previous First Ladies, such as Kim Keon-hee (378.6 million won) and Kim Jung-sook (238 million won). In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism argued that these were not special events organized for the First Lady, but rather large-scale K-culture promotion events planned by the ministry to meet growing global demand.

The government clarified that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism does not maintain a separate budget for the First Lady. Officials noted that the scale of cultural events has increased globally; for instance, a K-pop competition in New Delhi, India, attended by Kim, saw attendance grow from 800 to 3,000 people compared to the previous year. The administration maintained that the First Lady's participation was timed to coincide with official schedules to enhance the presence of Korean culture abroad.