The South Korean government is to blame for the disastrous organization of last year’s jamboree, which it denies

The findings of the independent investigation criticize the South Korean government, which they say sidelined the Scout leadership from organizing the event and took a leading role in organizing the jamboree, the BBC reports. But the government denied this.

South Korean lawmakers have called on the government to audit the accounts of the World Scout Meeting near Seoul after the botched event. Most of the nearly $2 billion budget was to be spent on “operational and personnel expenses,” Yonhap news agency reported at the time.

During the five-year preparation of the Jamboree, individuals and groups involved in the preparations undertook a total of eighty foreign trips, on which they were supposed to officially gather experience in holding previous Scout meetings.

However, it turned out that some of these expensive trips had little or nothing to do with the jamboree. For example, five provincial government officials took an eight-day trip to Switzerland and northern Italy, including Milan and Venice – but no jamboree ever took place in these locations. Cruises on luxury ships also appeared in accounting.

In response to the inquiry, the government said it had only played a supporting role in the organisation, with the main responsibility going to the Scouts. “It is not true that the government’s involvement is the direct cause of the event’s failure,” it said.

Heat and bad organization. Thousands of scouts leave the jamboree

World

The jamboree was a nightmare for the participants

The participants of last year’s global meeting of scouts first began to be troubled by the high temperatures, which climbed up to 40 °C. This was followed by other health problems. Because of this, several hundred participants ended up in the hospital.

The camp, located 300 kilometers from Seoul, where the expeditions were originally accommodated, was not prepared and was full of mud and water due to the previous rainy weather.

There were problems with both equipment and supply. Only after emergency services and appeals were air-conditioned buses moved to the site, in which it was possible to hide from the sunburn.

The participants then often had to evacuate on their own, the organization was confused and insufficient. A typhoon was approaching.

The Czech scouts, who also took part in the event, were accommodated by the Czech embassy in Seoul after the evacuation. “The jamboree camp itself looked more like a waterlogged paddy field just before it started,” the embassy described the situation after heavy rains hit the area.