[Park Jong-il Autonomous News] Why Are Seoul Autonomous District Press Releases the 'Face of the Institution'?

Due to COVID-19, administrative agencies have hardly held events, causing press officers to struggle with writing press releases... However, they acknowledge the serious fact that their work directly affects agency and agency head evaluations, requiring utmost effort.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] These days, due to COVID-19, all events at administrative agencies including Seoul's district offices have come to a complete halt.

Because gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited due to coronavirus infection, administrative agencies have been unable to hold any events at all.

As a result, the PR staff of these agencies are having a very hard time. They complain that they are wracking their brains trying to produce press releases occasionally.

There is inevitably a limit to creating planned press releases as well.

We fully understand these difficulties.

However, as long as the agencies exist, administration must continue, and administrative services to residents must be maintained.

Efforts must be made to convey through press releases that the agency is still active, no matter what.

At times like this, rather than holding events that gather residents, it seems more effective for the agency head to move among the residents and produce human-interest materials, which would give the staff more breathing room.

Among the 25 district heads of Seoul, Cha Hyeon-il, born in 1970 and the youngest, the Yeongdeungpo District Mayor, and Oh Seung-rok, the Nowon District Mayor, are representative cases. Mayor Cha visits sites of current issues daily and meets residents, and the media team issues press releases based on this.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok is also regarded as a district head who frequently makes on-site visits.

The media teams and staff supporting these efforts must be exhausted from planning, covering, and writing articles on site.

Nevertheless, producing routine press releases is a basic duty of the media teams. Thanks to these efforts, they can relatively instill the image of a ‘moving agency.’

On the other hand, some districts show less sincerity in making press releases, saying things like ‘nothing is happening, so we can’t do anything,’ which causes frustration. Sometimes, even the content and photos lack care.

Materials sent by administrative agencies are delivered to the residents of the district and Seoul citizens through the media. Ultimately, residents who are the service recipients can only evaluate the agency based on the quality and content of the press releases.

Of course, the first evaluators are the reporters covering the beat. These reporters review the materials sent, verify them to some extent, and then write articles under their own names. At this time, reporters inevitably evaluate everything about the agency head’s passion for residents.

Because of this, PR staff at administrative agencies cannot help but feel a heavy sense of responsibility. The PR department is often a section many public officials avoid, making it difficult to recruit personnel.

A PR officer from a Seoul district once lamented, “It is very difficult to find and bring in a suitable press officer.”

However, those who have worked as press officers, team leaders, or section chiefs say it is a good opportunity to gain a broader perspective compared to working in other departments.

The saying ‘there is no free lunch’ fits perfectly here. The more you endure hardships, the more you learn about overall administration.

For this reason, as the history of local autonomy gradually accumulates, it is proven that PR officers in the administrative field increasingly shine in promotions and other aspects.

As in all fields, we should once again reflect on the reason why every press release produced by administrative agencies must be crafted with care.

Regardless of rank, I hope PR staff feel anew the sense of mission resting on their shoulders. They must accept as their destiny the need to always maintain an alert attitude and produce excellent administrative works.

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