Farewell video reaches 2.8 million views
The number of subscribers to Chungju City's YouTube channel has been declining following the resignation announcement by administrative officer Kim Seontae, who had been active as the YouTuber "Chungju Man."
As of 10:00 a.m. on the 15th, the YouTube channel "Chungju City" had 923,000 subscribers. This is about 50,000 fewer than the 970,000 subscribers it had before Kim announced his resignation, and 20,000 fewer than the 950,000 recorded the previous day.
Kim Seontae, administrative officer in charge of Chungju City's YouTube channel. Chungju City YouTube
Earlier, on the 13th, Kim announced his resignation through the official YouTube channel. On that day, he said, "It has been 10 years since I entered public service and 7 years since I started living as Chungju Man, and now I would like to say goodbye as I leave those years behind."
At the time, he said, "I was fortunate enough to achieve a small success thanks to the support of our subscribers," adding, "I would also like to express my gratitude to the citizens of Chungju who have supported me and to my colleagues at Chungju City Hall who have always been considerate."
The farewell video posted by Kim caused a sensation, garnering 2.8 million views in just one day. Online users responded with messages of support such as "A departure that criticizes no one," "He has upheld loyalty as much as he could," and "I hope only a path of flowers lies ahead for Administrative Officer Kim."
However, some online users expressed regret, saying, "What we loved was Chungju Man, not Chungju City," and "Without Administrative Officer Kim, I am not interested in Chungju City."
Meanwhile, according to Chungju City, Kim recently submitted his resignation letter to the human resources department and then went on long-term leave. He is reportedly scheduled to officially retire at the end of this month.
Kim is the founder of Chungju City Hall's official YouTube channel and is known to have handled planning, filming, editing, and guest casting while working on the New Media Team. By actively utilizing popular online memes, he played a key role in scaling up the local government YouTube channel into a large channel with more than 900,000 subscribers.
In recognition of his achievements, he was promoted from grade 9 to grade 6 in about seven years and served as head of the New Media Team. He also pioneered a new path as a public servant influencer and appeared on various entertainment programs such as "Omniscient Interfering View," "Zombieverse," and "Bloody Game."
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