Expensive Talks

The cost for the recent North-South talks in Seoul at the Walker-Hill Hotel have been extremely expensive. The overall cost for the four day talks was 400 million won. Take a look at some of these costs reported in the Joong Ang:

In contrast with past talks, Pyongyang’s chief negotiator, on this occasion Kwon Ho-ung, is staying not in a luxury suite but in a relatively modest guest room on the seventh floor, which costs 430,000 won per night. The other North Korean delegates are sharing rooms on the same floor.

South Korean Minister Chung Dong-young, however, is staying in a special suite on the 17th floor at a cost of 3.5 million won a night. Seoul said the room is necessary for Mr. Chung to hold private meetings with the North Koreans.

Modest room for 430,000 won a night!? Minister Chung needs a room that costs 3.5 million won a night for private meetings? Doesn’t he live in Seoul? So why does he need a hotel to stay in? If it is just to hold meetings in then why can’t he use a government office building instead? What a waste of money for a set of talks that accomplished nothing. I’m sure the Walker-Hill Hotel isn’t complaining though.