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Gyeonggi officials face backlash for Japan trip during destructive rains

Published: 24 Jul. 2025, 14:01 Updated: 24 Jul. 2025, 22:09

A convenience store building collapses due to heavy rain in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi, on July 20. [YONHAP]

Local council chairs in northern Gyeonggi triggered public backlash by flying to Japan for a sightseeing-heavy trip while torrential rains pounded and left multiple people dead or missing.

The nine chairs departed for Japan at 4 a.m. on July 17 for a five-day, four-night trip. They said they aimed to study Japan’s local autonomy and regional development cases to inform policy development.

But their official schedule included only three municipal visits — to Hidaka City and Tokyo Metropolitan Government offices — on the first two days.

The rest of the itinerary was filled with visits to tourist sites including Shinjuku, Meiji Shrine, Odaiba and Yokohama’s Minato Mirai 21 district.

Gyeonggi residents raised concerns about the timing of the trip.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters issued a Level 1 emergency alert on July 16 due to heavy rain, and one person died in Osan, Gyeonggi, when a retaining wall collapsed.

Authorities raised the alert to Level 2 by 4 a.m. on the morning of the council chairs' departure.

“This kind of overseas junket was inappropriate during such a crisis,” one resident said.

One of the chairs defended the trip, saying, “There was only a rain forecast, nothing particularly serious. Northern Gyeonggi wasn’t a flood zone.”

But from the day they left, reports of flood damage emerged across Korea.

Officials carry out restoration work at a flood-damaged vineyard in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi, on July 24. [NEWS1]

Eight people were reported dead or missing on Sunday in areas including Gapyeong, where the damage was especially severe.

Despite the crisis, the delegation continued with their planned visit to Yokohama. Six of the nine chairs reportedly said they did not see any issue with the trip.

President Lee Jae Myung criticized the incident at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

"I want strict action taken against the deranged public officials who drink, dance or act without any measures while people are dying on the ground," he said. “Reward and punishment in the public sector is absolutely critical.”

Lee’s remarks appeared to refer to Guri Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun, who faced backlash for attending an off-site gathering where he sang and danced during the emergency.

Mayor Baek apologized later that day.

“The record rainfall across northern Gyeonggi caused significant anxiety among residents,” he said in a statement. “I made an unwise decision to attend an external event hosted by a local organization and sincerely apologize.

“I deeply disappointed citizens who felt anxious and public workers who were out in the field responding to the disaster. I accept all criticism and take full responsibility.”

The controversy escalated after local media published a video on Sunday showing Baek singing at a volunteer group’s lunch gathering at a restaurant in Hongcheon, Gangwon.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEON ICK-JIN [[email protected]]