"Chungjuman Is the Textbook of Voluntary Dismissal...There Is a Reason He Chose to Resign at the End of February"

Anonymous civil servant shares dismissal strategy
Organizational culture issues under renewed scrutiny

Following the news of Administrative Officer Kim Seontae’s resignation, who gained fame as “Chungjuman,” a set of tips on how to prepare for voluntary dismissal, posted online by an anonymous writer who appears to be familiar with the internal workings of the organization, has been drawing attention.

Kim Seontae, known as 'Chungjuman', announced his intention to resign on the 13th. Screenshot from Chungju City YouTube.

On the 14th, an anonymous community carried a post titled “Chungjuman Is the Textbook of Voluntary Dismissal.” The writer, identified as Mr. A, referred to Kim’s resignation and laid out detailed advice that people in the public sector who are preparing for voluntary dismissal can refer to.

In the post, Mr. A wrote that former Administrative Officer Kim Seontae, known as Chungjuman, is currently going through the “voluntary dismissal by request of the employee” procedure, and stressed that “until your resignation is finalized, you must not talk at all with your colleagues about 고민 over dismissal or about the possibility of dismissal.”

Explaining the reason, he said, “Every single person here runs their mouth as lightly as a feather, so the moment you even bring up the word ‘dismissal,’ everyone in city hall will know,” warning that rumors within the organization can spread quickly. He also pointed to specific timing, saying, “The reference dates for dismissal are the end of February and the end of September, when you get your holiday allowance. Do not do stupid things like resigning at the end of June or the end of December.”

As for how to act after submitting a dismissal request, he advised, “The moment you submit your dismissal form, you should use up your annual leave and sick leave all at once and stop coming in to work. No matter how hard you worked before, once it becomes known that you are scheduled for dismissal, you will be treated like a shadow.” He went on, “There will be countless people who, thinking they will never see you again, will openly make sarcastic remarks to your face, and team leaders and section chiefs will be running around with their eyes blazing, telling other employees to dig through all the documents you drafted and all your payment approval records while you’re not there, to find every mistake and get written statements,” and, “You will see all sorts of nasty behavior from people who tell you to finish all your work before you go, from people who tell you to write a handover document and get it reviewed by them before you leave, and from people who say, ‘When a new hire is assigned after your dismissal, come back and do the handover yourself,’” describing the conflict-ridden situations inside the organization.

When searching for Kim Seontae on Chungju City's intranet, profanity appeared as related search terms. Screenshot from an online community.

The controversy surrounding his resignation does not end there. In another anonymous post uploaded on the 15th, the writer claimed, “The jealousy and envy within the Chungju City civil servant organization were enormous,” and, “Back in 2024, when you searched for ‘Kim Seontae’ on the Chungju website, profanity directed at the administrative officer would appear in the related search terms.” The released image showed that when “Kim Seontae” was searched on the city hall intranet, the profanity “son of a bitch” appeared as a related search term. The year 2024 was also when Kim was promoted from Grade 9 to Grade 6 local administrative officer.

Mr. A also commented on the organizational atmosphere. “During tea time or at lunch and dinner gatherings, I repeatedly saw people frown or immediately start bad-mouthing him whenever the public relations guy came up in conversation. I saw a lot myself, so I can only imagine how stressful it must have been for him,” he said, adding, “Leaving this organization seems like the right decision. I also understand there were expectations that once elected officials changed, there would be attempts to erase his traces or attack him.”

On the 13th, Kim abruptly announced his intention to resign through Chungju City’s official YouTube channel. Since the channel’s launch in 2018, he had drawn attention within the public sector by using his distinctive B-grade sensibility and memes in content, making it the most-subscribed local government YouTube channel. In the regular promotions of January 2024, he made a rapid rise from Grade 9 to Grade 6, and within just one year of that promotion, he was appointed head of the New Media Team.

Immediately after news of his resignation broke, the number of subscribers plummeted from the 970,000 range to 820,000 (as of February 16), with more than 150,000 people unsubscribing. At the same time, anonymous office worker communities such as “Blind” saw growing controversy over internal attitudes and the culture of the public sector. Kim is currently using up his remaining leave while waiting for the voluntary dismissal by request of the employee process to be completed.