THE ELECTION Commission (EC) yesterday sought to justify its recent controversial field trips to South Korea and Japan, insisting that the fact-finding studies were undertaken for the good of Thailand and its future prosperity.

The public has questioned why the overseas junkets, both cut short amid a storm of criticism, were necessary when the Kingdom did not have a scheduled election.

EC member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, who returned from Seoul on Saturday, yesterday posted on his personal Facebook page clarifying the reasons for trips, which had been scheduled to run from Wednesday until yesterday.

Somchai said he had been welcomed by the chairman of the South Korea’s Supreme Court and nine commissioners, including the South Korean Election Commission’s vice chairman, who gave a presentation on the country’s overall political situation in relation to elections and vote-casting.

He added that he also asked South Korean EC members about how to eradicate vote-buying problems, which have been a chronic problem in past Thai elections.

Following the controversy over the trips, there were reports that four commissioners accompanied participants to a high-level EC executive training course to observe election procedures in Japan and South Korea.

According to acting EC secretary-general Jarungwit Phumma, the team sent to Japan observed the campaigning system while the delegates in South Korea studied the development of voting machinery and civic education.

Meanwhile, former Democrat MP for Bangkok Wilas Chanpitak urged Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to strictly oversee foreign trips conducted by state agencies and independent organisations in of light of a March 3, 2015 ban on governmental officials travelling abroad unnecessarily.

At that time, the government ordered all bureaucratic agencies to refrain from making overseas field trips. The order, however, was effective only in that fiscal year.

“Special training courses for any independent organisations and other state agencies should not require overseas trips. It should be written as organic law to prohibit any independent organisations from holding training courses overseas,” he said.

He also called on Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam to scrutinise overseas trips conducted by independent organisations, as he had found that officials had visited more than 40 countries.

According to a source, the four EC members decided to return to Thailand earlier than originally scheduled after the controversy arose.

EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen and election commissioner Pravich Rattanapian flew back from South Korea on Friday night, with Somchai following on Saturday.

Election commissioner Theerawat Theerarojwit returned from Japan on Saturday.