SEOUL-- The presidential office on Wednesday appealed a court ruling that Cheong Wa Dae should disclose information on its off-the-record expenses, including those spent on clandestine operations and the first lady's spending for protocol, a senior presidential official said Wednesday.

Cheong Wa Dae decided to appeal the ruling after taking various elements into consideration, including the fact that disclosure could undermine the public interest, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Last month, the Seoul Administrative Court made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Korea Taxpayers' Association to reverse the presidential office's decision in 2018 to keep its so-called special activity expenses and the spending for protocol by first lady Kim Jung-sook for official ceremonies off the record.

Earlier that year, the group filed a request with Cheong Wa Dae for the release of information on such expenses under the Moon Jae-in administration, including the amount of money spent as special activity expenses as well as when and how they were spent and for what purposes.

Special activity expenses are allotted to the prosecution, the national spy agency and other select government organs for intelligence operation purposes and information on how they are spent is kept confidential.

Source: Yonhap News Agency