As the controversy surrounding the use of corporate credit cards by Kangwon Land on weekends and holidays intensifies ahead of the parliamentary audit, local social groups in the former mining region have issued a public rebuttal, stating, "The unique nature of a casino and resort company that operates 365 days a year should not be judged by the same standards as general public institutions."
According to the office of Rep. Choi Soo-jin of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, Kangwon Land employees spent a total of 933.86 million won across 3,593 transactions on weekends and holidays between 2022 and August of this year.
By year, expenditures rose from 379 transactions (121.14 million won) in 2022 to 779 transactions (173.3 million won) in 2023, 877 transactions (218.24 million won) in 2024, and 976 transactions (267.21 million won) last year. As of August this year, 582 transactions totaling 153.95 million won have already been recorded.
Rep. Choi specifically flagged cases such as approximately 9.8 million won spent at butcher shops, 6 million won at fruit shops, and a bakery where 8.18 million won was split into two separate payments of 4.85 million won and 3.33 million won on the same day.
She also noted that 21.65 million won was spent across 195 transactions at establishments like wine bars, izakayas, pubs, and pochas (street stalls) between August last year and August this year, demanding a full audit and the recovery of improperly executed funds.
Rep. Choi argues that these instances point to potential misuse of public enterprise budgets and poor internal controls, necessitating a full-scale audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection.
However, in the former mining region, there is a counter-argument that viewing weekend and holiday usage as inherently improper fails to account for Kangwon Land’s business structure.
The Taebaek City Pending Issues Committee stated in a press release that day, "Kangwon Land is different from typical public institutions. It is a unique workplace where casinos, hotels, and resorts operate 365 days a year, with casino operations continuing late into the night."
They further argued, "It is unreasonable to define usage as fraudulent or inappropriate simply because a corporate card was used on a weekend or holiday. One must judge based on the purpose of use, work relevance, and supporting documentation rather than the date."
In reality, many departments at Kangwon Land—including casino, hotel, condo, food and beverage, facility management, and event operations—operate normally on weekends and holidays, unlike the standard Monday-to-Friday work schedule.
With a workforce of approximately 3,700, it is a large-scale operation where shift work and weekend duty are routine for many departments.
Therefore, corporate card usage is expected during normal business processes such as weekend meetings, events, customer service, business trips, community cooperation, and staff meals.
The Taebaek Committee emphasized, "If there are issues with corporate card usage, the objective facts of individual cases should be verified to determine their appropriateness. It should not be blown out of proportion as 'fraudulent' simply because it occurred on a weekend or involved local consumption."
Nevertheless, the criticism remains valid that Kangwon Land’s internal guidelines restrict holiday usage and spending at entertainment or alcohol-focused establishments, meaning the purpose and documentation must be scrutinized more strictly.
There is little disagreement that for unusual cases—such as high-value payments, split payments, or usage at bars—the company must clearly disclose the work relevance and basis for expenditure, and if improper usage is confirmed, recovery and accountability are necessary.
Ultimately, the core of this controversy is not the 900 million won total, but rather verifying the specific business purpose behind each of the 3,593 transactions.
Lumping normal holiday business expenses of a 365-day resort operator together with personal or inappropriate expenditures could distort the facts.
The Taebaek Committee concluded, "While sound and transparent management of Kangwon Land is essential, it must not lead to policies that hinder the economy of the former mining region and the lives of its residents."
