Controversy Over Civil Servants' Attendance Comments at 'Gaeseong Industrial Complex Talk Concert'... Citizens Are 'Boiling Mad'

Gyeonggi-do Apologizes for Controversy Over Mobilizing Public Officials... "Will Seek Improvement Measures"

'Talk Concert Connecting Individuality, Back to Hope' Poster. Photo by Gyeonggi-do

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Gyeonggi Province is facing controversy after public officials from cities and counties in the Gyeonggi region collectively posted "attendance comments" during the online concert titled "Hope for the Resumption of Kaesong Industrial Complex," which was hosted by the province. There are criticisms that public officials unrelated to the event were forcibly mobilized to ensure the concert's success. As the controversy grew, Gyeonggi Province apologized, stating, "We failed to consider the feelings and positions of the participating public officials."

Previously, Gyeonggi Province held the "Talk Concert Connecting Kaesong" online from 7 p.m. the day before at the Unjeong Happiness Center in Paju City, in collaboration with the Kaesong Industrial Complex Support Foundation and others. The concert was organized to mark five years since the full suspension of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, aiming to improve inter-Korean relations and promote the resumption of the complex. Panelists included Lee Jae-gang, Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace, and Choi Jong-hwan, Mayor of Paju City.

'Talk Concert Connecting Personality' YouTube Live Broadcast Screen. Photo by Online Community Capture.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, the concert was held non-face-to-face and was live-streamed on YouTube, AfreecaTV, Facebook, and other platforms. After the concert began, public officials from local governments in the Gyeonggi region repeatedly left comments stating their affiliation, department, rank, and name. For example, comments like "00 City, 00 Department, Grade 0, Kim 00, present" were posted.

In response, netizens raised suspicions through online communities, questioning whether Gyeonggi Province forcibly mobilized public officials to ensure the concert's success.

One netizen criticized, "This is getting ridiculous. In this day and age, why are public officials being mobilized like household servants? It's deplorable. The world is turning upside down."

Another netizen also pointed out, "This is too much. Stop harassing public officials. They are supposed to maintain political neutrality, so why are they being mobilized for such events? It's hard to believe this is really South Korea."

In response to the controversy, Gyeonggi Province issued a statement and an apology letter signed by Vice Governor Lee that afternoon.

In the apology, Vice Governor Lee stated, "In consultation with the Ministry of Unification, the event was included within the scope of public officials' unification education under the Unification Education Support Act, and we guided as many public officials as possible to participate. To confirm participation, we asked them to enter their affiliation and name in the YouTube live chat. However, because many people participated simultaneously, it caused inconvenience to other participants. We deeply apologize for failing to consider the feelings and positions of the participating public officials and for the issue of personal information exposure."

He added, "We believe this stemmed from insufficient prior consideration, and we will seek and implement improvement measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur again."

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