Former Seongdong District Mayor Jeong Won-oh, a preliminary candidate for Seoul Mayor from the Democratic Party of Korea. [Photo=Yonhap News] 

The controversy surrounding former Seongdong District Mayor Jeong Won-oh's 2023 business trip to Mexico, which surfaced on the 31st, is intense. The fact that he is a preliminary candidate for Seoul Mayor from the Democratic Party of Korea in the upcoming local elections appears to be escalating the controversy.

However, from a legal perspective, the issue is surprisingly simple. The core point is that the gender of a female accompanying staff member was recorded as 'male' in the official document for the overseas business trip.

If we were to assign charges, they could include forgery of official documents and their use, falsification and alteration of electronic records and their use, and incitement or aiding and abetting each of these offenses.

Kim Jae-seop, a member of the People Power Party, raised suspicions by disclosing this detail at a press conference on March 31st. Jeong Won-oh's side immediately retorted, stating, "It was a business trip attended by 11 people," and that "the gender misrepresentation was a simple mistake."

In other words, the starting point of the confirmed facts so far is that 'a female employee's gender was recorded as male in the document,' and Seongdong District's official explanation is that it was an 'administrative error.'

From a reporter's perspective, this is the most significant point.

Documents such as the resolution for overseas business trips are not mere reference materials. They are the starting point of official procedures, including the purpose, personnel, budget, approval, and post-trip reporting, and serve as official records forming the basis for budget execution and administrative responsibility.

If the basic personal information of an accompanying person is recorded incorrectly in such a document, it is not a matter that can be dismissed as a minor typo.

It needs to be explained who the initial author was, at what stage the error occurred, why no one in the approval line discovered it, whether there was a correction process after discovery, and how the original and corrected versions differ.

However, the explanations and counterarguments provided by Jeong Won-oh's side and Seongdong District so far have only concluded that it was a "simple mistake" and have not offered concrete explanations regarding the circumstances.

Regardless of the political intentions behind Rep. Kim Jae-seop's questioning, the documentation itself is subject to verification.

Rep. Kim claimed that former Mayor Jeong Won-oh took a business trip to Cancun with a female employee, and that employee's gender was recorded as 'male' in the relevant documents.

He also added that the gender item was redacted during the document submission process, and there were subsequent personnel issues for that employee.

On the other hand, Jeong Won-oh's side stated that it was a legitimate official trip at the official invitation of entities like the Mexican Electoral Commission, that 11 people accompanied him, and that the employee in question was responsible for the overall practical work.

Although the debate is fierce, one fact remains unchanged.

A woman was recorded as a man in an official document. Political interpretations may vary, but the accuracy of administrative records cannot be avoided.

Furthermore, the controversy escalated one step further within a day.

On April 1st, the People Power Party, in an official statement, raised concerns about a "Cancun 2-night, 3-day mystery" and "suspicion of hastily fabricated signatures," demanding further explanation from Jeong Won-oh's side.

Among these, the "suspicion of hastily fabricated signatures" is currently just a claim at the level of opposition party commentary and has not been verified by independent original documents or judicial findings.

Nevertheless, the already significant issues remain.

A single gender misrepresentation is shaking the entire credibility of the document.

Official documents can crumble over a small field. If basic items like name, date, gender, and signature are shaky, the entire explanation based on that document is bound to falter.

Jeong Won-oh's side is protesting that the attacks they are facing are "malicious negative campaigning that distorts the situation as if they went on a trip alone."

According to reports by Yonhap News and News1, Jeong Won-oh's side explained that 11 people participated in total, Cancun was merely a transit point, and the gender notation was a mistake.

Kim Jae-seop also adjusted the level of his expression in a further interview on April 1st, stating that he "did not use the phrase that they went alone." This point is important.

Pushing this incident into the 'privacy frame' risks missing the essence of the matter.

Instead, the more fundamental question is this:

Whether 11 people went, or 2 people traveled, whether Cancun was a transit point or not, why was a female employee recorded as male in an official document? As long as the answer to this question is weak, Jeong Won-oh's explanation may serve as a political counterattack, but it is insufficient as an administrative explanation.

The budget controversy ultimately boils down to the same issue.

Related reports stated that the budget for the 10-night, 12-day trip to Mexico and the United States from March 1st to December 2023 was approximately 28.72 million won. This figure is cited as the cost for the entire trip, not just the 2-night, 3-day stay in Cancun.

If so, what is even more necessary is the verification of document integrity, not sensationalistic attacks.

We must first check if the travel plan, resolution, flight ticket issuance details, accommodation and daily allowance execution documents, itinerary by segment, and post-trip report align with each other.

Budgets are not judged by numbers alone; documents must be accurate to explain the budget. Conversely, if the documents are shaky, the legitimacy of budget execution is also difficult to escape scrutiny.

As this incident has surfaced during the Seoul mayoral primary race, it is highly likely to be consumed by political infighting.

However, when the language of political conflict is stripped away, the remaining questions are simple yet critical.

Can Seongdong District explain why the gender misrepresentation occurred, who wrote it, who approved it, when they became aware of it, and why it was not corrected?

If these questions are not answered, the Jeong Won-oh Cancun trip controversy will remain not just a dispute over "out-of-town trips" but a case of "damage to the credibility of official documents."

Administration is not run on words but on records. And the word readers should hold onto until the end in this incident is not 'Cancun,' but the two letters, 'male,' written in the official document.

The Korea Media Consumer Association told Hankyoreh Daily on the 1st, "We plan to file a complaint with the police against the unknown author of the document."