Seoul High Court upholds order for disclosure of Yoon's meal and cinema expenses

The Seoul High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of a taxpayers’ group that demanded the presidential office disclose President Yoon Suk Yeol's movie viewing and dining expenses from two years ago.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and first lady Kim Keon-hee share a bucket of popcorn at a screening of the movie ″Broker″ at a Megabox movie theater in Seongsu District, eastern Seoul, on May 12, 2022. [NEWS1]

The Seoul High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of a taxpayers’ group that demanded the presidential office disclose President Yoon Suk Yeol's movie viewing and dining expenses from two years ago.

The Korea Taxpayers’ Association sued the presidential office in March last year after the latter refused to reveal how much the president had spent on movie screenings and meals in 2022.

The group filed its lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court after local media reported that the president had spent 4.5 million won ($3,250) on dinner at a restaurant in southern Seoul on May 13, 2022.

The taxpayers’ association also demanded to know how much Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon Hee had spent on tickets to attend a screening of the movie “Broker” on June 12, 2022.

In its ruling, the Seoul High Court said receipts showing how much the president had spent on meals and movies “cannot be considered information whose disclosure would threaten the core interests of the country” and ordered the presidential office to reveal Yoon’s expenses on both occasions.

The presidential office had appealed the case after losing the first trial in September last year.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]