Fate of Seoul District Media Team Leaders?

After the 8th Local Election, 7 District Media Team Leaders Transferred Possibly Due to Political Influence... Difficult Position Subject to Personnel Changes if Media Response Skills Are Deemed Insufficient... Opportunity for Promotion if Abilities Are Demonstrated

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] As the history of local autonomy in South Korea approaches 30 years, the role of public relations is gradually increasing.

Each autonomous district is emphasizing the importance of publicity.

This is because there is no better means than publicity to promote the achievements of local government heads.

Accordingly, the position of media (public relations) team leader in Seoul and its autonomous districts has become an important role. It has become a promotion track.

However, it is also a position where one can easily fall from grace. Especially during local election periods, the media team leader positions in Seoul’s autonomous districts tend to become political targets.

Therefore, it is evaluated that there is a need to act very cautiously.

Seoul city is less affected by political influence, but smaller autonomous districts face strong political winds.

In the local elections held last June, media team leaders in seven Seoul autonomous districts were dispatched to dong or institutions. Although they may feel unfair, the newly inaugurated district heads after the election made such decisions, resulting in these personnel changes.

In particular, this occurs when competitors within the district office separate tendencies and behaviors and report directly to the district head. It seems difficult for these individuals to regain their standing throughout the four-year term, making the situation even more regrettable.

Elections are a harsh process with winners and losers. If during the election process a media team leader is evaluated as “showing support for a certain side,” it is obvious that they will immediately face personnel actions.

This is especially likely if the district head or party candidate at that time loses the election.

Therefore, it is necessary to behave in a way that is evaluated as impartial to anyone. An official from a Seoul autonomous district pointed out, “After elections, especially when the district head’s party changes, media team leaders are highly likely to get politically entangled,” and “Therefore, during the election process, one must act so as not to be suspected even slightly.”

Since autonomous districts are small communities, it is even more important to be cautious in conduct.

In addition to political influence, this position is also unstable because personnel actions can be taken if work performance is insufficient. Another autonomous district official said, “The media team leader position is a very difficult role mainly evaluated by reporters covering the office,” and “If the role is not performed as expected, it is not impossible that this will be conveyed to the personnel authority and result in personnel changes.”

Thus, the media team leader position is undoubtedly a challenging one. However, if one demonstrates sincerity and communication skills with the media, it is mostly a promotion track to grade 5.

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