Yoon: "Innovation Needed Like 'Chungju-si YouTube' for Policy Information Delivery" (Update)

Yoon: "Even good policies are no different from nothing if people don't know about the benefits"

President Yoon Suk-yeol directly mentioned the Chungju City YouTube channel (ChungTV) on the 9th and called for innovation in policy promotion. This is the first time President Yoon has referred to a specific YouTube channel during a Cabinet meeting.

At the Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning, President Yoon said, "A young official in charge of promoting Chungju City created a YouTube channel called 'ChungTV' and promoted policies in a fresh and entertaining way, resulting in subscribers exceeding twice the population of Chungju. Such innovation is necessary," he instructed.

ChungTV was launched in 2019 by Kim Seon-tae, a promotional officer for Chungju City, also known as the 'Chungju City PR Man.' Kim has skillfully utilized various memes (photos or catchphrases trending online) to promote Chungju’s local specialties, tourist attractions, and city administration, growing ChungTV into a YouTube channel with 556,000 subscribers, more than twice the population of Chungju (about 210,000 people).

ChungTV is the only local government YouTube channel to surpass 500,000 subscribers. It has more than 2.5 times the subscribers of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s YouTube channel, which has 195,000 subscribers.

Because of this, comments such as "I may not know what’s happening in my neighborhood, but I know what’s going on in Chungju" are frequently posted on ChungTV.

Kim Seon-tae, known as the "Public Relations Man of Chungju City." [Image source=ChungTV]

In response, Kim was specially promoted to Local Administrative Officer (Grade 6) in this month’s regular promotion, just seven years after entering as a Grade 9 official. It is considered an exceptional case since it usually takes about 15 years for a basic local government official starting at Grade 9 to reach Grade 6.

President Yoon emphasized the need to strengthen government policy promotion by applying the Chungju YouTube channel case, following last year’s efforts such as presidential aides and ministers visiting livelihood sites and breaking down barriers between ministries. The idea is that no matter how good policies are made through visits to livelihood sites and inter-ministerial cooperation, they are useless if the actual beneficiaries?the people?are unaware of them.

In his opening remarks, President Yoon mentioned new policies such as ▲a mobile application for refinancing mortgage loans ▲expansion of livelihood benefit recipients and support funds ▲raising parental allowance to 1 million won ▲expansion of Neulbom School ▲opening of the GTX-A line between Suseo and Dongtan in March, then said, "No matter how good a policy is, if the people do not know about it and cannot receive the benefits, it is as if the policy does not exist," and instructed, "We must thoroughly consider from the people's perspective how, where, and what information should be delivered to ensure it reaches the people clearly."

He continued, "Creating and announcing good policies is not the end but the beginning," and reiterated, "I hope you take full responsibility until the policies work well on the ground and the people can feel the changes."

He also stressed the need to make this year "a year of livelihood recovery." President Yoon said, "In my New Year's address this year, I stated that I would place the people at the center of all state affairs and become a warm and action-oriented government," and urged ministries to work together to solve pressing issues such as livelihood stabilization, economic revitalization, the three major structural reforms in labor, education, and pensions, low birthrate response, and balanced regional development.

He also ordered thorough preparations for the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, which will open on the 19th of this month in Gangwon Province. President Yoon said, "The future generations participating from countries around the world will remember Korea through this event," and added, "Please carefully manage all aspects such as accommodation and safety so that they can make many good memories and return home."

Meanwhile, at the Cabinet meeting, President Yoon introduced agenda items including the permanent enactment of the Corporate Vitality Enhancement Act, the Personal Debtor Protection Act which limits overdue interest to the amount of overdue loans, and the amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the Outdoor Advertising Act to strengthen the management of political party banners. The amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Outdoor Advertising Act includes provisions banning the installation of banners in places that compromise safety and limiting the number of banners to two per eup, myeon, or dong (administrative divisions).

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held on the 9th at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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