Canberra Liberals MLA Elizabeth Lee has received more than $10,000 worth of travel and hospitality, including a trip to Uzbekistan late last year, from groups closely linked to the Republic of Korea.
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The $3000-odd Uzbekistan trip was one of two overseas trips Ms Lee received from a range of groups linked to the Korean government, but most were were paid for by the Overseas Korea Foundation.
Ms Lee, the first Korean-Australian elected to an Australian parliament, said the foundation "offers support, networking and professional development for people of Korean heritage", working with the Overseas Korean Politician's Council.
"We can always learn from and contribute to our colleagues around the world to work out how we can all do things better – and being a parliamentarian is no different," she said.
She said the OKPC helped support politicians from around the world with "a shared Korean heritage", and was similar and its work involved learning about "how different parliaments work".
The foundation, an offshoot of Korea's foreign affairs department, runs international exchanges and other programs to educate the peninsula's overseas diaspora and extend the nation's influence globally.
In November last year, the foundation and another body, the Uzbekistan Korean Business Club, paid for Ms Lee to travel return from Sydney to Uzbekistan to attend an OKPC conference she said was held to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Koreans in the country.
The two nations also have an extensive trade relationship, centred around Korea offering its technological expertise in return for access to Uzbekistan's significant natural resources, an effort to counterbalance the control China and Russia exert across the region.
In total, the foundation paid $3,085 worth of the 10-day trip, including $1900 on flights and $730 on accommodation, while the club paid $350 worth of those costs, on meals, transport and other costs.
The trip was the second overseas jaunt largely funded by the foundation, with Ms Lee travelling to the ROK and visiting Seoul, Jeju and Sejong self-governing city for at least 10 days.
On that trip, Ms Lee received about $6093 in free flights, accommodation, travel and hospitality, including a free ticket to two $100-a-head banquets and entry to the Jeju Forum, a high-profile diplomatic and business conference.
Since her election to the Assembly in October 2016, Ms Lee has also received wine, tea sets, a scarf, a tie and from the foundation and other Korean interests including the Mayor of Sejong and a member of the Korea's national assembly.
The foundation also flew Ms Lee from Canberra to Melbourne for an overnight trip costing about $570, including a night staying at the Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens in the Victorian city in September last year.
In all, Ms Lee's declarations of interest to the ACT Legislative Assembly show she received at least $10,800 in hospitality funded by the foundation, not including from other groups and a number of gifts recorded as 'value unknown' on the documents.
Ms Lee said she was proud of her heritage and the contribution that Korean-Australians make to Australia, and that Australian parliaments should reflect the diversity of the community.
She also said no ACT taxpayer funds had "ever contributed to any costs of the organisation's activities I have attended".
An Opposition spokeswoman also said Ms Lee had sought advice on her involvement with the foundation from the Ethics and Integrity Advisor, Stephen Skehill, who gave Ms Lee "the green light", though that advice was not released on Friday.
