Controversy Over Personal Business Promotion on Business Cards of a Gwangju Seo-gu Council Member

Engraved with the phrase 'Flower Farm' operated for years on the back

Council: "Possible violation of 'Council Members' Code of Conduct' ordinance"

Council member explains, "I hardly ever hand out business cards"

A council member of Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, is causing controversy by listing the name of the flower shop they operate on the back of their official council member business card.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A member of the Seo-gu District Council in Gwangju Metropolitan City has recently been embroiled in controversy over allegations of violating the Resident Registration Act, and now is under fire for including promotional phrases for a personal business on official council business cards.

Since the launch of the 8th council in 2018, the council member has been using business cards with the name of a flower shop he has operated for years printed on the back.

Some have raised concerns that this may be an implicit pressure to have people use his flower shop by leveraging his council position.

The front side of Councilor Yoon’s business card, obtained by this paper, is not significantly different from those of other council members.

However, the back side features a ‘flower’ illustration along with the name of his nursery, and includes phrases such as ‘Indoor and outdoor landscaping, condolence and congratulatory wreaths, Eastern and Western orchids, foliage plants.’ Below that, his personal profile is listed.

This contrasts with typical council members’ business cards, which usually leave the back blank or include only personal profiles, blog, or social media addresses.

Regarding this, citizen Park (34) commented, “Is it appropriate to promote a personal business on a council member’s business card? It seems like he is only interested in personal gain,” adding, “It’s no different from implicitly pressuring people to order flowerpots or wreaths.”

There is also a possibility that this violates the ‘Council Member Code of Conduct.’

Article 8 of the ‘Ordinance on the Code of Conduct for Members of the Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City’ states, “Members shall not use or allow others to use the name or position of the council to which they belong for private interests by means such as publicizing or posting.”

Including a personal business on a business card that bears the name and position of the council can be seen as using it for private gain.

A Seo-gu Council official said, “There is sufficient ground to consider this a violation of the Code of Conduct,” and added, “We will recommend refraining from such use and request corrections to avoid misunderstandings.”

Moreover, the council supports business card production costs up to 100,000 KRW once a year under the ‘Legislative and Operational Common Expenses’ category. The council pays the printing company on behalf of the council member.

It is known that Councilor Yoon received 100,000 KRW in support each in 2018 and last year.

Considering that 200 business cards typically cost about 20,000 KRW, approximately 1,000 cards were produced annually.

However, Councilor Yoon’s response was surprising.

He explained, “I was told to write my profile, so I included the nursery I have operated since 1991, long before I was elected as a council member. There was no other intention.”

He also said, “I hardly distribute my business cards. You can tell by seeing the pile of cards in my office,” and added, “If this is a problem, I will have the cards reprinted.”

Meanwhile, in 2018, a council member from Gongju City stirred controversy by printing promotional phrases for a spouse’s personal business on the back of their business cards.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.