JEONNAM-GWANGJU — The 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo was criticized at a parliamentary audit as a textbook case of a rushed project, after it emerged that state-run institutions, local governments and companies had bought hundreds of millions of won worth of admission tickets in bulk. Lawmakers questioned whether operating revenue had been padded with taxpayer money.
Rep. Seo Myoung-ok of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, pressed officials on the expo's planning and execution during an audit of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City on the 22nd.
Seo said one state-run institution bought 48,000 tickets for 500 million won five months before the expo opened. The institution was identified as Jeonnam Development Corp. She added that one local government and four companies bought more than 50,000 additional tickets. "Six organizations in total were confirmed to have bought 100,000 tickets worth 1.1 billion won all at once," she said.
The tickets purchased by Jeonnam Development Corp. were distributed to low-income residents with limited access to cultural events across the 22 cities and counties of Jeonnam. The organizing committee said the tickets were sold at a 30% discount to the regular price.
Seo argued the purchases amounted to inflating ticket sales figures with public funds. "What state-run institution would voluntarily buy 500 million won worth of tickets?" she said. "Weren't tickets forced on state-run institutions that operate on tax money?" She said the arrangement could be seen as a structure in which taxpayer money covered ticket revenue.
The gap between reported ticket sales and actual attendance also came under scrutiny. According to Seo, 394,000 tickets had been sold as of the end of September. Of those, only about 94,000 were actually used — meaning roughly three of every four tickets sold went unused.
"About 300,000 tickets are dead tickets," Seo said. "On secondhand trading sites, there have been cases of 15,000-won tickets changing hands for 2,000 won."
The response to the weak turnout also drew criticism. Seo said that after the shortage of visitors was raised, a meeting chaired by the city's vice mayor was held, and civil servants were subsequently encouraged to take "viewing business trips" to the expo. "Encouraging civil servants to visit on official business after complaints that there were no visitors is inappropriate," she said.
The timing of the expo and the state of supporting infrastructure emerged as further points of contention. Seo cited an internal review report prepared by the city of Yeosu in December 2019. "That report stated that the bridges linking the mainland and the islands, which are essential for visitor access, would be completed in 2028," she said. Even so, she noted, the master plan submitted for government approval stated that the expo could be held in 2026 to coincide with the opening of 11 such bridges.
The target of 3 million visitors was also called unrealistic. "The Yeosu World Island Expo's goal of 3 million visitors is realistically impossible," Seo said. "Bulk ticket purchases, a surge in unused tickets, civil servants on viewing business trips and inadequate infrastructure — it is a textbook case of a rushed project."
Seo demanded that records of ticket purchases and actual usage be submitted after the expo closes. "The state-run institutions and companies that bought tickets, the actual usage records and the number of foreign visitors must be submitted to my office," she said.
Min Hyung-bae, mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, responded that he would take the criticism to heart. He added, however, that the expo was not yet over and asked for support for the parts that were going well. On the 3 million visitor target, he acknowledged that it appeared unlikely to be met.