State audit board initiates probe of Jamboree debacle

Jamboree scouts leave the campsite at Saemangeum, Buan County, North Jeolla, on Aug. 8. [YONHAP]

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) began its investigation on the so-called Jamboree fiasco on Wednesday.

“The BAI launched preparations needed to audit the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum today,” the board said in a statement. “We will promptly initiate an on-site audit as soon as possible.”

The 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, initially planned to be hosted on a tidal flat in Buan County, North Jeolla, from Aug. 1 to 12, came under both local and international scrutiny after unsanitary conditions at the campsite, terrible food and a critical lack of heat-reducing measures amid a heat wave made headlines in media outlets throughout the festival.

Nearly 40,000 scouts from over 150 countries eventually evacuated from the barren campgrounds of Saemangeum by Aug. 8.

The institution said that it will be poring through how the central and local governments prepared for the international event, including its fund allocations.

“We will conduct the audit on the entirety of the event, from the hosting of the event to the preparation, operation and closing of the event, and will thoroughly audit all related organizations,” it said.

In addition to the provincial government of North Jeolla, which led the bidding process to host the Jamboree festival from as early as 2012, the BAI could look into the roles the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism played in organizing and preparing for the festival.

The BAI can place any official it finds at fault under a disciplinary action effective for three to five years.

Allegations that the officials of North Jeolla, and other relevant agencies may have used the Jamboree funds for dubious purposes in their international travel - at least 99 trips over the past eight years - were also raised in recent local media reports.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]