Daegu City Council Member Hajung Hwan Calls for Transparent and Fair Standards in Media Publicity Expenditure

Issues Raised During Administrative Audit
Call for Fair Execution Regardless of Editorial Stance

The Culture and Welfare Committee of the Daegu City Council (Chairman Park Changseok) conducted an administrative audit on November 19, targeting the Public Relations Office, the Daegu Sports Council, and the Daegu Disabled Sports Council. Regarding the Public Relations Office, the committee called for maintaining momentum in municipal publicity and strengthening the media response system. For the sports councils, they urged identification of the reasons behind poor performance at the National Sports Festival and the development of measures to promote sports for the disabled.

First, the administrative audit of the Public Relations Office focused on the overall media response system, including reviewing the direction of municipal publicity in light of the mayoral vacancy and the use of YouTube, as well as responses to media misreporting.

Hajung Hwan, Daegu City Council Member

Chairman Park Changseok (Gunwi County) emphasized the need to maintain consistency and momentum in municipal publicity regardless of whether there is a mayor in office. He pointed out the necessity of strengthening proactive publicity that can inspire hope among citizens and called for increased production and promotion of video content related to major events and current issues in Daegu.

Committee member Lee Jaesook (Dong-gu 4) reviewed the operational direction and content strategy of the Daegu City YouTube channel, checked plans for introducing more creative and participatory content compared to other local governments, and urged the enhancement of content through short-form videos and collaborations with local creators.

Committee member Hajung Hwan (Dalseong-gun 1) stressed the need to establish transparent and consistent standards for publicity expenditure, as this issue has been raised annually. He pointed out that responses to critical articles should involve clarification and communication, and that advertisements necessary for municipal publicity should be executed fairly, regardless of the editorial stance of the media outlet.

Committee member Ha Byungmoon (Buk-gu 4) urged more active promotion of Daegu’s achievements, especially as municipal publicity may weaken during the mayoral vacancy. He reviewed whether the media response system functioned properly regarding sensitive issues such as recruitment controversies and requested further strengthening of media management to prevent public misunderstandings in the future.

Committee member Kim Jaewoo (Dong-gu 1) noted that Daegu has fewer publicity ambassadors compared to other regions, reviewed the selection criteria and overall operational system, and requested improvements to address deficiencies in related ordinances. He also called for expanding the number of publicity ambassadors and diversifying their fields to enhance the city’s image and competitiveness.

Committee member Jeong Ilgyun (Suseong-gu 1) emphasized the importance of media publicity, noting that negative press coverage has continued since the mayoral vacancy, increasing public concern. He reviewed the status of press releases, checked the reasons for the suspension of operations of the Beomeo Intersection electronic billboard, and examined the appropriateness of the related budget execution.

Committee member Kim Jubeom (Dalseo-gu 6) pointed out the lack of sufficient explanations regarding major controversies, called for more active fact-checking and responses to inaccurate reports, and noted that the operation of the Children’s Press Corps has been too formalistic. He requested substantive improvements to the program, including education on article writing and on-site reporting, to better align with its intended purpose.

The subsequent administrative audit of the Daegu Sports Council and the Daegu Disabled Sports Council continued with discussions on poor performance at the National Sports Festival and the need for measures to promote sports for the disabled.

Chairman Park Changseok pointed out the continued decline in Daegu’s performance at the National Sports Festival and urged thorough analysis of the reasons for poor results and the development of measures to improve athletic performance.

Committee member Lee Jaesook reviewed the status of fundraising by member sports organizations, encouraged more active fundraising, and requested that support funds for member organizations be distributed based on clear criteria to prevent concentration on specific organizations or sports.

Committee member Hajung Hwan noted that increasing recruitment incentives for outstanding athletes has not translated into improved performance among participating athletes. He urged continued efforts to enhance athletes’ skills and called for thorough checks to ensure that overtime allowances are paid in accordance with regulations and that work-related compliance is strictly observed.

Committee member Kim Jaewoo examined the reasons for poor results at the recently held National Disabled Sports Festival, called for strengthened communication with local disabled sports participants, and urged a more active approach to discovering new athletes and training coaches.

Committee member Jeong Ilgyun noted that, unlike other metropolitan cities and provinces, only Daegu has not established district or county-level disabled sports councils. He called for proactive efforts to establish such councils and urged the active discovery of outstanding athletes in the community to enhance local sports competitiveness.

Committee member Kim Jubeom (Dalseo-gu 6) pointed out that the frequency of exercise among Daegu’s disabled residents and their awareness of nearby sports facilities are at the lowest level compared to other regions. He called for the discovery of sports that reflect the actual needs of the disabled and for improvements in accessibility to community sports facilities.

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