Over 31 billion won spent on addressing Jamboree issues

The 25th World Scout Jamboree has been marred by a series of issues, spanning from the preparation stages to the event itself, incurring a cost of at least 31 billion won just to address these challenges. Originally projected at 49.1 billion won during the host country's selection in 2017, the total project cost has more than doubled, reaching 117.1 billion won by the event's commencement on August 1. Some argue that inadequate preparation and operational inexperience have further wasted taxpayers’ money.

According to the Jamboree organizing committee, the government decided to allocate an additional 6.9 billion won from the reserve fund on the fourth day of the event, on top of the total project cost. Owing to inadequate measures against heat waves, numerous participants collapsed due to heat-related illnesses, and even medical supplies were depleted. This prompted the urgent provision of air-conditioned buses and medical resources. To address hygiene concerns, 100 cleaners were hired to maintain restroom cleanliness, and supplementary snacks were distributed. Before the event's commencement, the organizing committee had already used 16.7 billion won to provide food, shade, medical facilities, heatwave protection, and toilet maintenance.

Furthermore, due to the northward movement of Typhoon Khanun, approximately 37,000 participants were compelled to evacuate the Saemangeum site in Buan County, North Jeolla Province, on Tuesday. They dispersed to eight cities, incurring nearly 20 billion won solely on accommodation, food, and transportation expenses. The participants are currently lodged at local government training centers and university dormitories.

The local government has set the cost at 150,000 won per participant for accommodation (based on double occupancy rooms) and 50,000 won for meals. Based on this, the additional expense for food and accommodation is estimated to be around 500,000 won per person. Consequently, the projected expenditure for the three-day, four-night is expected to amount to 18.5 billion won. However, the rental fees for over 1,000 buses, which were urgently employed to transport participants, are yet to be settled and paid.

Additionally, additional costs are associated with changes such as relocating the closing ceremony and K-pop performance venue from a campground to the Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul. Furthermore, new cultural events and experiences are being organized, increasing expenses. An additional 1 billion won has been allocated, augmenting the original budget of 4.5 billion won for the K-pop performances and the closing ceremony. However, an official from the Jamboree organizing committee stated, “Calculating the total budget is challenging due to unresolved elements, and precise expenditure can only be determined after the event's conclusion.”

If you factor in the additional costs incurred due to the wrong site selection before the event began, the extent of the recovery process becomes even more substantial. Following an expenditure of 184.6 billion won over three years on land reclamation, the campsite faced flooding in May of this year owing to inadequate drainage. Subsequently, an additional 3 billion won was spent on establishing a proper drainage system, along with 1.86 billion won to expand the drainage ditches.

In addition to the extra amount drawn from the reserve fund, the expenses for accommodation, food, transportation, venue changes, and drainage work amount to approximately 31 billion won. This sum is equivalent to the total budget of previous overseas jamborees. According to the Scout Association of Japan, the total cost of the 2015 Jamboree in Yamaguchi, Japan, was 39.5 billion won. "Following the event, we should thoroughly analyze how much taxpayer money was wasted due to the lack of preparation and use it as a lesson," stated Cho Dong Keun, an economics professor at Myongji University."


Gun-Hee Cho becom@donga.com