EC defends Japan-Korea trip as ‘justifiable’

The EC came under public scrutiny for a trip to Japan and Korea late last month, which was questioned about its worthiness.
Trips made by independent organisations such as the EC have become the subject of discussion among charter drafters on whether steps should be considered to prevent taxpayers' money being wasted. 
So far, they have prohibited the organisation from taking part in any extra courses, which were alleged to be used to forge "connections".
EC president Somchai Somcharoen said the Cabinet had resolved that foreign expeditions should ensure that the destination is a member of the ASEAN+3 countries, but the Cabinet also allowed exceptions in necessary cases.
The EC’s Political and Electoral Development Institute, which was responsible for the recent extra curricular course, had considered taking the trip to countries within the ASEAN+3 scope but none of them were holding an election, Somchai said.
He said the EC was willing to help save the state budget but Japan was still a good option for the expedition because the students could learn how the state sponsored political parties in an election campaign.
Also, Somchai said the trip was advantageous as the students and the EC could learn how democracy was developed in those countries.
Regarding some other trips, Somchai said the EC only had to cover travel expense as other expenditures were picked up by the host countries.