"Tired of Everyone Imitating Chungju Men"... Local Government PR Officers Diagnosed with 'Kim Seontae Syndrome'

Understanding Criticism of 'B-Class Sensibility Uniformity' but Drawing the Line
Kim Seontae, Officer, "New Challenges Are Necessary"

"These days, there are too many PR officers infected with the Kim Seontae syndrome"

This is the title of a post that recently stirred up online communities. The author of the post claimed, "Our city's project promotional materials were made like this and got criticized during the administrative audit," and revealed a poster they said was the criticized promotional material. This poster actively borrowed a famous internet meme. The frog character 'Pepe' aiming a gun says, "Open your mouth. You only need to complete the program to get money." The phrases "Up to 3.5 million won" and "Cash headbutt" are written on both sides of the gun barrel.

Yangsin City official YouTube and Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) official YouTube (left), Seontae Kim, administrative officer at Chungju City Hall (right). [Photo by YouTube, Chungju City official YouTube]

The term 'Kim Seontae syndrome' is interpreted as mocking the uniform promotional methods of local governments that actively use 'B-grade sensibility.' B-grade sensibility is credited as the secret behind 'Chungju City's PR man' Kim Seontae's successful management of Chungju City's YouTube channel. Other local governments openly benchmark this approach. The official YouTube channels of Yangsan City in Gyeongnam Province and Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) have attracted attention as the 'second Chungju men' through B-grade sensibility content.

Some netizens criticized, saying, "Kim Seontae had B-grade sensibility, not C-grade," and "All public institutions are copying it these days, so I don't want to see it." A PR officer from a local government in the Seoul metropolitan area said, "We get a lot of comments on our SNS saying (we are infected with Kim Seontae syndrome)." He added, "I think those comments come because everyone is trying to make fun promotional content."

Regarding the criticism of 'uniformity in B-grade sensibility promotion,' local government PR officers understand such views but drew the line at the accusation of uniformity. Jang Ara, a PR officer at Gwangju Buk-gu Office, said, "Rather than calling it Kim Seontae syndrome, I think it would be better to promote policies more entertainingly because it's easier to get the message across if it's cheerful." Shim Gyutae, a PR officer at Seoul Seongdong-gu Office, said, "I think the reason such comments came out is that many people want to benchmark the (viral) method," and added, "I've never thought that everyone is copying it exactly."

Promotional poster related to the Ministry of Employment and Labor project, claimed to have been pointed out during the city's administrative audit last June [Photo source=Online Community]

There was also an opinion that the 'higher-ups' instruct to create such content. Another PR officer from a local government in the Seoul metropolitan area said, "The influence of the name Kim Seontae was mentioned even by VIPs," and added, "Rather than feeling pressured, I think it's more accurate to say we feel a sense of alertness." Another SNS officer said, "Because Chungju City gets a lot of views, there are suggestions to do it that way."

This year, 30 local governments conducted both the Youth Challenge Support Project and the first half (June) administrative audit simultaneously. Among them, nearly half mentioned 'Chungju City' when addressing the promotional departments during the audit. According to the minutes of the Paju City Council administrative audit, Democratic Party city councilor Choi Yugak said, "Kim Seontae became the team leader. It's frustrating. Shouldn't Paju City also nurture someone?" Councilor Choi criticized the responsible public official, saying, "I mentioned it last year too, telling you to use the councilors more. Why don't you use the councilors?" A related person expressed frustration, saying, "It's content we worked hard on, but it's a bit difficult when it's only judged by the number of views."

Kim Seontae, a PR officer at Chungju City Hall, said, "I've never heard of Kim Seontae syndrome before." Regarding the issue of uniformity in B-grade sensibility and pressure from higher-ups, Kim advised, "It's true that Chungju City's YouTube has played a leading role, but we need to find something different from Chungju City." He also said, "There are many practical difficulties, but I think new challenges are necessary."

Yangsin City official YouTube, Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) official YouTube [Photo source=YouTube]

Meanwhile, the authenticity of the 'Pepe promotional poster' said to have been criticized in the previous administrative audit was checked. This poster appears to be related to this year's Ministry of Employment and Labor's 'Youth Challenge Support Project.' The Youth Challenge Support Project is a customized program providing job training and more for young people aged 18 to 34 in 72 local governments nationwide. This year, participants receive up to 3.5 million won combining participation allowances and employment incentives. A thorough investigation of the administrative audit minutes of the 30 local governments that conducted audits in the first half (June) found no mention of criticism toward promotional departments regarding this matter. The minutes record the speaker's expressions and posture in detail and have legal effect (meaning they cannot be arbitrarily modified or deleted without a ruling from the supervisory authority or court).

All 30 PR officers shared the same position. They said that official local government characters are used for policy promotion, and using external characters causes copyright issues. They also stated that there was no fact of being criticized during the audit. However, Kwon Hyukju, a PR officer at Gumi City Hall in Gyeongbuk Province, said, "I once posted a poster for the youth monthly rent support project using the meme 'Open your mouth, OO goes in' on Instagram posts and stories," but explained, "It was a human character, not a frog."