TAX MONEY DETECTIVE · PUBLIC EVENT · Completed
2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree
An international youth camp. The budget grew from ₩49.1bn through three increases to ₩117.1bn; operations faltered over heat and sanitation, and participants left the site ahead of a typhoon. The Board of Audit found in April 2025 that every organiser lacked capacity and oversight failed.
Saemangeum reclaimed land, Buan, North Jeolla · 2023-08-01 ~ 2023-08-12 · Issuer 2023 새만금 세계스카우트잼버리 조직위원회 · Checked 2026-10-09
- Direct project cost
- ₩117.1bn
- Public money
- ₩72.2bn
national + provincial + municipal
- Biggest contractor
- Unknown
- Budget growth since approval
- +138.5%
- Visitors: target vs actual
- n/a
- Audits / probes / inquiries
- 1
0 ongoing or scheduled
- Confirmed misconduct
- 0
only rulings, audit findings, dispositions
1 contract red flags · 0 documented connections · 1 audit findings · 0 ongoing · 0 confirmed misconductRed flags are patterns worth a closer look, not findings of wrongdoing. There is no combined score; check each axis below.
01 / PUBLIC MONEY FLOW
Money flow: funding → issuers → contracts
- Funding — National ₩30.3bn · Provincial ₩41.9bn · Other / unclassified ₩39.9bn · Other / unclassified ₩5bn News report 2023-08
- ↓ 2023 새만금 세계스카우트잼버리 조직위원회 — direct budget ₩117.1bn
- ↳ 2023 새만금 세계스카우트잼버리 조직위원회 ₩87bn
- ↳ Committee spending (operations, programmes, toilets and showers) ₩87bn
- ↳ Subcontracts: not public — request via FOI
- ↳ 전라북도 ₩26.5bn
- ↳ Province spending (water, sewage, main assembly site) ₩26.5bn
- ↳ Subcontracts: not public — request via FOI
- ↳ 부안군 ₩3.6bn
- ↳ Buan County spending (Jikso stream activity site) ₩3.6bn
- ↳ Subcontracts: not public — request via FOI
02 / BIGGEST BENEFICIARIES
Who received the most
Concentration = top contractors ÷ the issuer’s total (including contracts not itemised). High concentration is not itself wrongdoing; one large operations contract dominating is common for expos.
03 / RED FLAGS
Red flags — patterns worth a look
- Cost growth
- Initial budget ₩491억 → now ₩1171억 (+138.5%)
Rules: budget up 30.0%+ since approval · contract up 50.0%+ · 3+ changes · single bid on a competitive/negotiated tender · one firm 40.0%+ of an issuer · 3+ sole-source awards to one firm · sole-source awards 30 days apart · emergency notice within 9 months of opening.
04 / CONTRACTS
Contracts, competition and award ratios
| Contractor · work | Issuer | Method | Bidders | Budget | Award ratio | Amount |
|---|
Award ratio = winning bid ÷ notice budget. "—" means not found in public records. No source yet
05 / CONTRACT CHANGES
Contract changes
No change orders found.
Increase = (final − original) ÷ original. Reasons come only from change-order documents; if unpublished they stay "not published".
07 / PROMISE VS RESULT
Promised vs delivered
| Item | Plan | Actual | Status |
|---|
| Budget | ₩49.1bn (initial) | ₩117.1bn Three increases | Off plan |
| Essential facilities in time (camp, power, telecoms, water) | Ready before opening | Delayed or poorly installed in H1 2023 (Board of Audit) | Off plan |
| Heat and sanitation readiness | — | Heat supplies, meals, medical, pest control, waste and toilet cleaning poorly prepared (Board of Audit) | Off plan |
| Full programme on site | Camp 1–12 Aug | Participants withdrew ahead of the typhoon (8 Aug) | Off plan |
- Public money per visitor (interim)
- Not final
- Revenue recovery
- Actual not final
Per visitor = public money ÷ visitors. Recovery = direct project revenue ÷ total cost.
08 / ECONOMIC IMPACT
Announced economic impact is not government income
Output effects estimate transactions across the economy, not money the government earns. Net effect requires removing spending merely displaced from elsewhere.
09 / RELATIONSHIPS & CONFLICTS
Decision makers, contractors and conflicts
- Decision maker–contractor ties · NOT CHECKED
- Links between decision makers and contractors not checked.
- Political donations · NOT CHECKED
- Political donations not checked.
- Revolving door · NOT CHECKED
- Post-retirement employment not checked.
- Bribes, entertainment, kickbacks · NOT CHECKED
- The Board requested investigation of 4 people (bid interference etc.); with no investigation or court outcome found, nothing is listed as confirmed misconduct.
Decision points
People are shown by official role only. Donations or past employment, even when documented, are not evidence of wrongdoing.
10 / CONFIRMED MISCONDUCT
Bribes, entertainment, kickbacks — officially confirmed
NO EVIDENCE FOUND — As of 2026-10-09, no misconduct confirmed by an auditor, regulator, prosecutor, police or court was found. Ongoing probes are listed separately below.
11 / AUDIT · INVESTIGATION · COURT
Audits, investigations and inquiries
- 2025-04-10 · Board of Audit and Inspection · concluded · VERIFIED
40 irregularities: discipline sought for 5, investigation requested for 4 (bid interference etc.), referral material for 2 (obstruction), personnel notes for 7 (incl. the former minister and vice-minister over false reports to the Assembly), caution to the agriculture minister. Poor site choice (drainage), late facilities, weak heat and sanitation prep, farmland fund used outside its purpose.
News report 2025-04
12 / CLAIM VS RESPONSE
Claims and official responses
CLAIM · DOCUMENTED — “Most of the committee budget went on salaries and overheads” (Press and politicians)
RESPONSE · Organising committee — Of ₩74bn, salaries were ₩5.5bn and overheads ₩2.9bn; ₩65.6bn was programme spending on meals, staff canteens, lodging and supplies News report 2023-08
SO FAR — The Board of Audit faulted late facilities and weak service preparation News report 2023-08 · News report 2025-04
13 / WHAT REMAINS
What remains afterwards
- Campsite land and infrastructure · Unknown
- No book or appraised value — not estimated — Post-event use not confirmed from official documents.
15 / PROFILES
Contractor and issuer profiles
16 / WATCH THIS PROJECT
Check it yourself, report it
Want the contracts? Documents to request under FOI
Project plan / master plan · Contract · Change orders with reasons · Settlement report · Cost calculation and bill of quantities · Statement of work · Bid proposal · Evaluation sheets and panel composition · Subcontract list · Trip reports
- KONEPS
- Tenders, bid openings, contracts
- ACRC Clean Portal
- Corruption and public-interest whistleblowing (with reporter protection)
- e-People
- Complaints to agencies, requests to local audit offices
Council questions and resident audit requests go through the local government or council website.
TIP
Report how tax money was used
Tips are never published automatically; they are stored as unverified user reports. Only facts confirmed by official documents, contracts or KONEPS reach the page. Do not include private individuals’ names, contact details or unproven accusations — for whistleblower protection use the ACRC Clean Portal.
SOURCES
Evidence levels: VERIFIED = Confirmed by a ruling, audit finding or official investigation result / DOCUMENTED = An objective link (registry, career, donation) exists; no wrongdoing established / REPORTED = Reported by the press, not finally established / ALLEGED = A claim or allegation only / NO EVIDENCE FOUND = No supporting evidence found so far / NOT CHECKED = AMS has not checked this yet — not the same as "clean"
When rising material costs are given as the reason, Cost Detective shows the actual cost trend.
DETECTIVE RADAR
2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree from other angles
✓ analysed · △ applies, not analysed yet · not applicable: Origin Detective, Cost Detective, Distribution Detective, Inflation Detective, Discount Detective, Value Detective, Hype Detective, Hogu Index, Ingredient Detective (food & drinks), Privacy Detective · All axes on one page