Conductor is ‘cleared of expenses abuse’

An article published in South Korea by one of the auditors scrutinising the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s books over the past ten years says that there is no grounds for suspicion against the music director, Myung Whun Chung. Rather than fiddling expenses, writes the experienced music administrator Byungkwon Oh, the SPO actually owes its maestro more than $100,000 in unclaimed expenses.

The allegations against Chung originated with the former chief executive of the orchestra, Park Hyun-jung, who has been trying to discredit the organisation since she was forced out at the end of last year.

The audit has not yet been published officially, but Mr Oh said he decided to go public this week in the Daejonilbo newspaper out of concern that South Korea might lose the only conductor of international stature it has ever produced.