North Jeolla governor denies full accountability for Jamboree flop

North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young at a press conference on Monday held at the government office. [YONHAP]

North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young has broken his silence regarding his province's much-maligned handling of the World Scout Jamboree.

The governor said that though he feels responsible as the executive of the Jamboree's organizing committee, there was plenty of blame to go around for the questionable preparations for the event.

“As the governor of the site that hosted the World Scout Jamboree I feel great responsibility,” Kim said during a press conference on Monday. “I deeply apologize to the people who were hurt.”

He said many people lent their support to the Jamboree with high hopes of holding a large-scale international event in North Jeolla and expressed regret that "we couldn’t end this with grace at the end."

“I will take responsibility if there was any wrongdoing by North Jeolla,” the governor said.

However, the governor rejected accusations that his province's preparations for the Jamboree were half-baked and demanded a thorough government audit to restore the region's good name.

“North Jeolla didn’t shy away from burdening all that it should as the host province,” Kim said. “Every detail in preparing the World Scout Jamboree is in documents with the organizing committee, the North Jeolla government and the central government.”

He especially put the blame on the organizing committee, which spent 74 percent of the 117.1 billion won ($89 million) budget that went into preparing the World Scout Jamboree.

“North Jeolla had been responsible for the water and sewage system and the vine tunnel and pump station,” Kim said. “Most of the contracts and the work were done by the organizing committee."

During the press conference, Kim also defended other major infrastructure projects that the province is pushing for that could be adversely affected by the Jamboree debacle, including the ongoing construction of an international airport at Saemangeum.

“There have been 10 trillion won worth of Saemangeum infrastructure projects separate from the Jamboree,” Kim said. “These are infrastructure projects to improve the investment environment at Saemangeum and bolster the region’s development accordingly to plan."

He added, “I will not forgive any acts that trivialize the Saemangeum project that has been underway for the past 32 years since 1991 or to stomp on Saemangeum’s dream.”

He said the North Jeolla government will immediately start its own investigation into allegations raised against the provincial government regarding contracts that were signed regarding the World Scout Jamboree.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]