Jeonju mayor under fire for drinking during business trip for city's Olympics bid
Published: 04 Dec. 2025, 18:18
Updated: 04 Dec. 2025, 18:30
![Jeonju Mayor Woo Beom-ki in Jeonju, North Jeolla, on Sept. 24 [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/04/632ce96d-51d0-4369-a2bc-9f8dcc258918.jpg)
Jeonju Mayor Woo Beom-ki in Jeonju, North Jeolla, on Sept. 24 [NEWS1]
Jeonju Mayor Woo Beom-ki came under fire after reportedly drinking with city officials in his hotel room during a weeklong business trip to Australia that was meant to “promote” the city's bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics, according to the city government.
Brisbane is set to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, and Melbourne previously hosted the games in 1956. The Jeonju government said Woo visited both cities from Nov. 5 to 11 to “benchmark Olympic bidding strategies, stadium infrastructure and the integration of cultural and tourism resources, as well as build diplomatic [...] partnerships.”
However, Woo is now under scrutiny after allegedly drinking locally purchased beer and soju brought from Korea with more than 10 city employees in his hotel room for four consecutive nights during the trip.
“The gatherings took place after official events ended each day and lasted late into the night,” said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Civic groups condemned Woo's behavior, calling it inappropriate for an official tasked with international diplomacy. Critics also pointed to his previous misconduct: On May 23, Woo was suspended from his Democratic Party position for three months after reports of drunken verbal abuse surfaced during his transition into office.
“The mayor appears to have used the Olympic bid as an excuse to host a taxpayer-funded junket,” said Lee Chang-yeop, the secretary general of the Jeonbuk Participatory Citizens’ Coalition (translated). “It’s disappointing to see his fondness for alcohol spill over into official overseas business.”
![Jeonju Mayor Woo Beom-ki in Jeonju, North Jeolla, on Dec. 1 [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/04/13860198-5430-48f0-91dd-48dcebb99120.jpg)
Jeonju Mayor Woo Beom-ki in Jeonju, North Jeolla, on Dec. 1 [NEWS1]
In response, Woo’s office asserted that the gatherings were informal team discussions intended to share the mayor’s vision and build camaraderie. “No guests or locals were disturbed, and no one, including the mayor, overdrank,” the office said. “At no point did these gatherings interfere with the official itinerary.”
Another city official noted that Australia prohibits bringing outside alcohol into restaurants, so the group drank beer in the hotel room instead. “It was a relaxed, friendly space where the mayor and staff reviewed the day and prepared for the next,” the official said, though “on the final night, [the meeting] was more like a send-off party.”
The official also stressed that no one was forced to join. “One department head wrote in the group chat, ‘Rest if you're tired. Come if you want to have a drink,’” the official said. “The mayor didn’t pressure anyone to drink or engage in inappropriate behavior.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JUN-HEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)