Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah gets out of his airplane, which he piloted from Brunei to the Kimhae Airport, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. / Yonhap



By Kim Hyo-jin

The Sultan of Brunei rented out half of a luxury hotel in Busan for the two days of the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit, according to an industry source.

The source said Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, accompanied by 12 princes and princesses, booked 119 rooms. The sultan stayed in a presidential suite measuring 654 square meters, with a spectacular ocean view, which costs 10 million won per day.

"We were informed of the Sultan's stay by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a few months ago," said a hotel spokesperson, denying that the hotel placed the sultan ahead of Thailand's prime minister.

But she refused to confirm the number of rooms the sultan's entourage occupied.

For a summit with President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday he flew his own plane to Seoul. He then flew back to Brunei, before returning to Busan for the ASEAN-Korea summit.



Bolkiah is one of the world's longest-serving monarchs, having assumed the throne in 1967. He often tops the list of the world's richest men, with $40 billion in personal wealth. His sultanate, one of only two remaining in the world, boasts $40,000 per capita GDP thanks to oil and gas production.