Find out what went wrong from the start

Shortly after the 2023 World Scout Jamboree being criticized for the poor preparation and operation ended, political circles have started the blame game. On Sunday, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party (DP) branded it as a symbolic case of an “incompetent government” led by President Yoon Suk Yeol and demanded his apology, the resignation of Prime Minister Han Duk-soo and a legislative probe into the fiasco.

In reaction, a legislator from the governing People Power Party (PPP) attacked the Moon Jae-in administration and North Jeolla for their poor preparation after being chosen as the host for the event in 2017.

We are dumbfounded at their fight. The responsibility for the ill-prepared Jamboree falls on the previous government, the current one and the local government. People will not forgive their pointing fingers at one another without taking their due responsibility. The top priority is to find the truth behind the disastrous management over the past six years and devise effective ways to prevent such a mishap.

The authorities must first examine how the massive budget was spent. Out of the 117.1 billion won ($87.9 million), only 12.9 billion won was allocated to setting up the huge camp in Saemangeum, North Jeolla. As a result, the camp site on the vast reclaimed land was ridiculed for shower booths without locks and a critical lack of decent restrooms. As many as 1,000 scouts suffered hyperthermia from the unbearable heat wave, but most of them were left unattended. That was an inevitable result from the less than 1,000 won for medicine per person.

Meanwhile, 86.9 billion won, or 74 percent of the entire budget, went to the operational cost for the organization committee. With the money, public employees went on 99 overseas trips. In May 2018, civil servants from the province took an eight-day trip to Switzerland and Italy, both with no experience of hosting the event, to learn lessons. In 2019, local county officials even enjoyed a seven-day cruise to Shanghai.

If no accidents happened under such circumstance, it would have been a miracle. The police must thoroughly investigate what went wrong from the beginning, given the mounting suspicion over the collusion with local builders for construction of the main Jamboree center, which is to be finished next year, and a number of stealthy contracts with a local cartel of interests.

The event exposed all the loopholes of Korean systems. The probe must start with the Board of Audit and Inspection followed by the prosecution regardless of what administration must take responsibility. Investigators must not repeat their past practice of only holding low-level officials accountable.