Kim Seon-tae, who drew attention as a YouTuber with 1 million subscribers, is facing unexpected controversy over a promotional video for the Yeosu World Islands Expo he recently took part in. Rather than promotion, it is being called an SOS-level whistleblow. Ultimately, the local government even issued an official apology.
Recently a video titled "Yeosu promotion" was posted on Kim Seon-tae's channel; the video was paid advertising content produced in cooperation with Jeollanam-do and contained material introducing the 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo. But the tone was uneasy from the start. Kim Seon-tae, upon seeing the promotional vehicle, bluntly assessed, "They don't give good vehicles when they ask for cooperation for promotion trucks," and "You can tell from the wheels alone that the condition is poor."
He went on to sigh, "They must have spent money on the exterior production, but the interior condition is terrible." The driving venue he visited afterward became a problem. The site was in the early construction stage with excavation work underway, looking almost like an empty field. Kim Seon-tae appeared visibly shocked, asking, "Why did you bring me to a construction site?" and a representative explained, "It is meaningful to see the before-and-after."
But the problems did not stop there. The video showed Geumjukdo, which is difficult to access because there is no pier, and abandoned fishing gear left at the site. Scenes of places that appeared poorly prepared were captured as they were. In particular, with only about five months remaining until the expo, controversy grew over the fact that despite being planned for more than three years, the project still appeared to be at the basic construction stage.
Once the video was released, online reactions intensified. People said it looked less like promotion and more like an internal whistleblow. It was described as almost an "SOS"-level promotion. When an official said, "We know the public sentiment is not good, but now we are in the same boat," Kim Seon-tae drew a line, saying, "I don't want to be buried. I also have a brand image."
Meanwhile, the budget issue also came under scrutiny. The originally approved project budget by the Ministry of Economy and Finance was 24.8 billion won, but it increased to 67.6 billion won including expanded project costs, and it is known that a total of 161.1 billion won will be投入 when linked projects are included.
Jeollanam-do issued an official statement through a comment. The public relations officer said, "We are reading all the comments you sent and will humbly accept the sharp criticisms," and "Although things may look lacking now, we will prepare more thoroughly and show results." They added, "We will compensate for the不足 parts until the end." Yeosu city also explained, "The main venue is structured as a special tent rather than a permanent building, so it may look like a field at present," and "it is proceeding normally according to the planned schedule."
The "2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo" is an event co-hosted by Jeollanam-do and Yeosu city and is scheduled to run for 61 days from Sep. 5 to Nov. 4. Among them, Kim Seon-tae, known as the "Chungju man," is a former civil servant–turned YouTuber who opened a personal channel after retirement and quickly surpassed 1 million subscribers, demonstrating significant influence. The video is spreading controversy as quickly as his reach.
[photo] "YouTube"
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