A number of National Assembly budget committee members lambasted for seemingly inappropriate overseas travel have cut their trips short in an effort to handle the fallout.

On Sunday, the Saenuri Party’s Rep. Chang Yoon-seok, the chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, cut short an 11-day trip to South American nations and apologized for the controversy the trip caused.

“(I) apologize for raising concern among the public,” Chang said in a statement.

“In many ways (taking the trip after the delayed passage of the budget) did not meet the public’s expectations.”

He did, however, defend the trip saying that it was planned in June, and that the schedule was delayed due to factors such as the presidential election.

Chang had left on Jan. 1, hours after the budget was passed, along with fellow Reps. Kim Jae-kyung and Kweon Seong-dong, and Reps. Ahn Gyu-baek and Min Hong-chul of the Democratic United Party to Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama.

It was the first time the national budget had been delayed until January. The deadline for budget passage stipulated in the constitution is Dec. 2.

Reps. Choi Jae-sung and Hong Young-pyo of the Democratic United Party also returned from their trip to Africa ahead of schedule on Sunday.

Choi and Hong were on a tour of Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe along with the ruling party’s Reps. Kim Hack-yong and Kim Sung-tae.

Kim Hack-yong and Choi are the two main parties’ executive secretaries for the budget committee, while Kim Sung-tae and Hong were involved in the budget modification subcommittee.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)