Why Are Dongdaemun-gu and Seodaemun-gu Hiring Contract Media Team Leaders?

Na Jina Marks 10 Years as Seodaemun-gu Press Team Leader
Kim Younghoe Recently Appointed as Dongdaemun-gu Press Team Leader

Following Seodaemun-gu, Dongdaemun-gu also attracted attention by hiring its press team leader as an open-position (contract) employee.

Seodaemun-gu hired Na Jin-ah, who had worked in public relations at a private company, through a public recruitment for the press team leader position in 2016. As a result, Team Leader Na has been recognized for faithfully fulfilling her role as the press team leader of Seodaemun-gu for 10 years this year. After graduating from Ewha Womans University with a degree and graduate studies in sociology, Team Leader Na worked in PR at private companies S Corporation and M Securities before transforming into a district press team leader, successfully continuing public relations work for the district government in close cooperation with her team members over a considerable period.

Recently, Dongdaemun-gu also appointed Kim Young-hoe, a private PR expert, as the press team leader through an open recruitment. The district had previously recruited a former Seoul central district team leader for the press team leader position a few months ago, but that person left shortly after to become the head of a popular defense company, leading to Kim’s appointment as the successor. It is known that Dongdaemun-gu made considerable efforts to appoint a civil servant as the press team leader for a long time but ultimately hired a PR expert due to the lack of suitable candidates.

The fact that Seoul’s autonomous districts are hiring press team leaders?who play a pivotal role in public relations?from outside rather than internally is interpreted as a recognition of the increasing importance of PR work. An official from district A said, “As PR work becomes increasingly sophisticated, it seems burdensome for regular public officials to handle it, so several districts appear to have hired external experts as press team leaders.”

In addition, many contract press officers work in Seoul’s autonomous districts. These include Heo Jun-nyeong in Seodaemun-gu, Park Su-jin in Seongbuk-gu, Lee Hye-min in Jongno-gu, Jang Eun-hee in Songpa-gu, Park Heon-gyo in Gangseo-gu, and Lee Yoon-joo in Guro-gu.

In particular, veterans such as contract press officers Heo Jun-nyeong, Park Su-jin, Jang Eun-hee, Lee Hye-min, and Lee Yoon-joo have been serving for over 10 years. Another official from district B gave a meaningful recommendation, saying, “Open-position public officials should put more effort into strengthening their expertise to compensate for their relative lack of experience working in general departments and their limited network of colleagues and seniors compared to regular public officials.”