Kim Seon-tae Assistant Deputy Director, who gained nationwide popularity as "Chungju Man," is leaving Chungju City Hall. As he had said he received love calls amounting to twice a civil servant's annual salary, attention is focused on his choice and future moves.
According to Chungju City on the 13th, Assistant Deputy Director Kim Seon-tae submitted his resignation to the personnel department the day before and is scheduled to retire at the end of this month. He is currently using up his remaining annual leave, the city said. A Chungju City official said, "The resignation has not yet been officially accepted," and "Since he clearly expressed his intention to resign, it will be processed according to procedure." It was reported that internally there was a reaction that the resignation, which was conveyed without prior notice, was somewhat sudden.
Assistant Deputy Director Kim Seon-tae led Chungju city's official YouTube channel "Chung TV" and gained public recognition under the nickname "Chungju Man." As head of the new media team under the Director for Public Relations at Chungju City Hall, he produced promotional videos using parodies and memes that attracted attention, and the channel now approaches 970,000 subscribers. Recognizing these achievements, he was rapidly promoted to grade 6 in late 2023, seven years after his appointment.
Although he was a civil servant, his newsworthiness surpassed that of many influencers. Assistant Deputy Director Kim Seon-tae appeared on MBC's "Radio Star" and "Omniscient Interfering View," drawing attention as a "star born in Chungju," and afterward received love calls from various YouTube entertainment shows.
He has also spoken candidly about the realities of public service. When he appeared on the YouTube channel "Neighborhood Star K" last year, he talked about the "Drowning" stage that became a topic of conversation, saying, "At the event many outsiders came and I was asked to perform a congratulatory stage. It was essentially forced," and added, "Overtime pay is about 13,000 won an hour, so I received 13,200 won," expressing bitterness.
On the other hand, Assistant Deputy Director Kim Seon-tae also revealed offers outside public office. Appearing on the YouTube show "Eat breakfast and go 2" in 2024, he said, "Love calls are coming from central ministries and companies," and "There was an offer at the level of twice a civil servant's current annual salary," which drew attention.
Attention is focused on what new path Assistant Deputy Director Kim Seon-tae, who decided to leave public office, will choose using the "Chungju Man" brand as a springboard. His next move, having established himself as a national content creator after being a civil servant, is being watched.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]