Chungju Man Kim Seontae, Reason for Rejecting Billion-Won Salary Offer... Power Over Money?

In Web Variety Shows, "Recently Rejected Corporate Offer of Over 100 Million Won Annual Salary"
"Money Is Not the Issue, but Without Full Authority, It Will Fail"

Kim Seon-tae, a 36-year-old specialist in charge of the Chungju City YouTube channel 'ChungTV,' recently revealed that he declined a corporate offer with a salary in the hundreds of millions of won.

[Photo by YouTube channel 'Kkondaehee']

Kim appeared on the web variety show 'Kkondaehee,' released on the 3rd, where he shared the story of receiving and rejecting a high-paying offer from a company. When asked about his salary on the show, Kim said, "Our salaries are public," adding, "I receive 42 million won after tax, which is slightly less than 50 million won before tax."

When Kim Dae-hee tried to recruit him by saying, "I will give you 50 million won after tax," Kim Seon-tae responded, "I recently received an offer that was double that from a company but turned it down." He explained his reason for refusal, saying, "Honestly, money is an issue, but what I value most is that if I join the company making the offer, I don't think I would have full authority."

Kim said, "Right now, I have full authority and work alone. Although there were some conflicts before, I can now handle everything myself. That's how success is possible." He added, "If I don't get full authority wherever I go, it will definitely fail. My success is not because of excellent quality but because of unique planning and ideas. If I have to get approvals, I won't be able to realize those ideas," he explained.

[Photo by YouTube channel 'Kkondaehee']

When the host asked, "Does Chungju City's YouTube channel not require approvals?" Kim replied, "There are no approvals at all. Even the immediate team leader does not check. That is our principle. (Because I have full authority) it was very difficult at first."

Kim Seon-tae is solely responsible for everything from video planning, casting, editing, to filming for Chungju City's official YouTube channel 'ChungTV.' The channel gained huge popularity with its honesty, B-grade sensibility, and various parody videos, which were unprecedented for public institutions. Since its launch in 2018, it achieved the highest total subscriber count among local government YouTube channels within five years and, as of the 5th, has 600,000 subscribers. This number is 227,000 more than 'BoisoTV' of Gyeongsangbuk-do, which ranks second among local government YouTube channels.

When asked about his future plans on the show, Kim said, "I want to become the first local government official streamer (BJ)." However, he added, "I want to do personal broadcasting under the name of Chungju City. I have no intention of doing it as an individual."

When Kim Dae-hee asked, "It seems like Chungju is all you think about. Honestly, are you considering entering politics? Mayor of Chungju, member of the National Assembly, how far are you thinking?" Kim Seon-tae replied, "Not at all," but then smiled and said, "Maybe a bit higher."

Earlier, Kim Seon-tae became a hot topic when news broke that he was promoted to Local Administrative Officer (Grade 6) in Chungju City's January regular promotion personnel announcement. Typically, it takes about 15 years for a public official to be promoted from Grade 9 to Grade 6, but Kim achieved this rapid promotion just seven years after joining as a Grade 9 in 2016.

President Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned Kim Seon-tae during the first Cabinet meeting of the new year, emphasizing innovation in policy promotion, saying, "A young official from Chungju City has promoted policies in a fresh and entertaining way, with subscribers exceeding twice the population of Chungju."

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