Why Is There a Difference in Promotional Mindset Between Seoul City and District Officials? [Park Jong-il Local News]

Seoul City Officials Have a Thorough Promotional Mindset, While Autonomous District Officials Show Low Promotional Awareness, Which Is Regrettable... Even Seeing District Mayors with Strong Promotional Mindsets Entering the National Assembly, Emphasizing the Importance of Promotion Can Never Be Overstated

Seoul City Hall Plaza

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] What is the difference between Seoul city officials and district officials?

First, in terms of publicity, Seoul city headquarters officials basically have the right mindset. They have a clear promotional mindset about the projects they are working on.

In contrast, Seoul district officials clearly show an atmosphere of reluctance to promote. They tend to avoid promoting not only their own department but even their own department’s work.

Why is that?

Seoul city projects are large in scale. On the other hand, district projects are not very large.

Could this be the reason for the difference in promotional mindset? Of course, it could be. However, the difference in mindset regarding publicity seems to be a matter of a different dimension.

Basically, Seoul city officials recognize that their projects have a significant impact on all Seoul citizens and the nation, so from the planning stage, they must create an exit strategy in the form of a publicity strategy. Only then will approval be granted. Because of this, the mindset of Seoul city officials already firmly holds the perception that “the pinnacle of policy is publicity.”

Moreover, the Mayor of Seoul is an elected official who receives the second highest number of votes after the president and is a major politician dreaming of the presidency. Former Mayor Lee Myung-bak fulfilled his presidential dream. Former Mayor Go Gun aimed for the presidency but did not achieve it. Mayor Oh Se-hoon is a leading presidential candidate from the ruling party. This shows that the political status of the Mayor of Seoul is very high.

However, Seoul’s districts seem different. There are as many as 25 district mayors. Therefore, they are only one among 226 local government heads nationwide. No matter how advanced policies a district mayor proposes, it is not easy for them to gain nationwide recognition.

◆ Members of the National Assembly from Seoul district mayors Kim Seong-hwan, Kim Young-bae, Lee Hae-sik, and Cho Eun-hee consistently show interest in publicity

However, there are exceptions. Kim Seong-hwan, Mayor of Nowon District during the 5th and 6th local elections, launched a suicide prevention project that became a nationwide issue. Afterward, Mayor Kim ran in a by-election for the National Assembly, was elected, and won again in the 21st general election, becoming a re-elected member of the National Assembly. He is currently active as the secretary-general for the ruling party leader and as the policy chairman of the main opposition party. Although Kim was ahead in policy, publicity also played a significant supporting role.

Also, Kim Young-bae, Mayor of Seongbuk District during the 5th and 6th local elections, who personally practiced resident autonomy, served as a Supreme Council member after entering the National Assembly. Lee Hae-sik, Mayor of Gangdong District during the 4th, 5th, and 6th local elections, who created the urban agriculture brand, also succeeded in entering Yeouido.

Kim Seong-hwan and Lee Hae-sik are living witnesses of local autonomy, having served as district councilors, city councilors, district mayors, and then members of the National Assembly.

Along with them, Cho Eun-hee, a former journalist who served twice as Mayor of Seocho District and organized the large-scale Seoripul Festival, was elected in a by-election for the National Assembly held alongside the presidential election and is actively participating as a broadcast debater.

All of these politicians have shown exceptional affection and interest in publicity. For politicians, publicity is essentially a matter of life or death.

In the 8th local elections, among the 25 districts of Seoul, the People Power Party won 17 district mayor positions. The Democratic Party’s district mayors decreased to 8. With 18 first-term Seoul district mayors, it is hard to deny a lack of know-how or passion for publicity. Because district mayors lack know-how and passion for publicity, the district publicity departments naturally appear less enthusiastic.

Moreover, district employees generally tend to regard publicity as a bothersome task.

◆ Among Seoul district festivals... district mayors should show interest in publicity

Currently, Seoul is in the midst of a festival boom. Due to COVID-19, face-to-face festivals were not held for three years, but starting this year, festivals are bursting forth. However, it is regrettable that publicity is not adequately supporting these events. One Seoul district is currently holding a large festival. Yet, even during the festival, there is not a single photo news shot. Another district only sent photo news. Another district held a one-day festival but there was no news even by evening. When the reporter requested photos several times, the responsible department said they would check and send them, but nothing came.

One might think it is because it was the weekend, but the thought that this is not right cannot be erased. Even if the district mayor lacks a publicity mindset, the publicity officials should support it.

That is precisely the reason for having a publicity department. Especially, the head of the publicity department should make efforts to find newsworthy stories when accompanying the district mayor during festivals. Protocol will be handled by the event manager. It means they should not just follow behind.

Recently, a department head who transferred from Seoul city to a district publicity department said, “Seoul city employees have publicity mindset ingrained in them, but districts do not seem to have that,” which suggests a lot.

We hope for an improvement in the publicity mindset of Seoul district officials, especially those in charge of publicity. For this, district mayors who hold personnel authority must show greater interest and passion for publicity so that employees will follow.

Publicity work is not something that should be left solely to the employees.