Kingston Council spent more than £6,000 of its own money on overseas travel for councillors and officers between 2016 to 2018, travelling as far as South Korea.

A Freedom of Information Request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service showed the council spent £6,051.87 on transport in this period, and an extra £400 on accommodation.

These trips included two trips to Oldenburg (which Kingston is twinned with), and a trip to Jinju and Seoul in South Korea.

The most expensive trip was to South Korea in October 2016, under the previous Conservative administration.

The council shelled out £4,160.95 on transport to South Korea, and an extra £400 accommodation in Seoul, while Jinju city covered accommodation and transfers between the cities. 

The purpose of the trip was to “forge economic, cultural and educational links” and secure university exchanges between Jinju and Kingston.

The report also states the trip hoped to “raise the profile of Kingston as a Foreign Direct Investment location of choice for South Korean investment” and to “brief the inward investment and trade team at the British Embassy in Seoul on Kingston’s unique selling point and for regeneration and investment in Kingston.”

Officers and councillors also travelled to Oldenburg to learn more about “best practice” regarding regeneration and cycling infrastructure from the German city.

Oldenburg’s city website describes itself as “the cycling city in the northwest.”

They first visited in September 2016, spending £1,788.84 on transport.

They visited again in May 2018. However, councillors did not attend the second trip, and Oldenburg City covered the costs of flights, leaving the council to pay only £100 for transfers and £40 on Kingston-related books for the city’s main library.

Officers also attended two trips to Cannes for the MIPIM property conference in 2017 and 2018, paid for by the Kingston Futures Partnership.

This amounted to more than £15,000 over the two years.

It is described as the world’s largest property event, and officers attended to “secure interest from international developers, investors and property professionals” to help understand how to best take forward key sites in the borough. 

They also hoped to learn how to improve on marketing and branding of the borough, and showcase Kingston on an international stage.

A Kingston Council spokesperson said these trips were “significant engagement opportunities”.

They said the trips helped “secure vital investment in the borough from international developers and to learn about best practice for some of our biggest corporate priorities including regeneration and cycling infrastructure (Go Cycle)”.

The spokesperson added: “We have a large Korean population in Kingston and one of the trips was primarily focused on establishing economic, cultural and educational links between the borough and South Korea. Three of these trips were part-funded by partner organisations and host cities.”