Statistics Korea Appoints Actor Park Seo-joon and Others as Ambassadors for the '2020 Population and Housing Census and Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Survey'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Statistics Korea announced on the 8th that actor Park Seo-joon and announcer Park Sun-young have been appointed as promotional ambassadors for the ‘2020 Population and Housing Census and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Census,’ which will begin in mid-October.

At the appointment ceremony held this morning at the SKY31 Convention Auditorium in Jamsil, Seoul, Statistics Korea Commissioner Kang Shin-wook presented the appointment letters to actor Park Seo-joon and announcer Park Sun-young. The ambassador appointment ceremony was conducted in a non-face-to-face manner with only a few officials attending, in line with social distancing measures to prevent COVID-19.

Selected as promotional ambassadors, actor Park Seo-joon and announcer Park Sun-young will participate in various online and offline promotional activities, including serving as models for the promotional videos of the 2020 Population and Housing Census, delivering messages encouraging public participation in the survey.

Commissioner Kang Shin-wook of Statistics Korea said, "Although the environment for this year’s Population and Housing Census and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Census is expected to be challenging due to COVID-19, Statistics Korea is making thorough preparations. With the trustworthy and stable images of these two ambassadors, various promotional activities will help create conditions and an atmosphere where the public can participate in the survey with confidence."

The Population and Housing Census and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Census conducted by Statistics Korea are the largest and most important government statistical surveys, conducted once every five years. The Population and Housing Census will conduct internet and telephone surveys from October 15 to 31, followed by face-to-face interviews from November 1 to 18. For the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Census, internet surveys will be conducted from November 23 to December 11, and face-to-face interviews from December 1 to 18.

In response to the social preference for non-face-to-face surveys due to COVID-19, this year’s census will expand internet surveys from PCs to mobile devices, and for respondents with limited internet access, telephone responses will be enabled by expanding call center functions. Additionally, Statistics Korea expects to implement a ‘paperless interview survey’ for the first time by utilizing tablet PCs equipped with electronic maps, which will prevent duplication or omission of surveyed households and contribute to environmental protection.