'Former Chungju Man' Suntae Kim Responds to Donation Controversy: "I'm Obsessed With Money... Donations Are Secondary"

"Donating to Avoid Taxes? ... I Do It to Improve My Image"

Former civil servant Suntae Kim, known as "Chungju Man" for running the Chungju City YouTube channel, has recently taken a firm stance in response to controversy and speculation surrounding his donations.

Mr. Seontae Kim is clarifying the rumors related to his donation. Screenshot from the YouTube channel 'Seontae Kim'

On April 21, Mr. Kim uploaded a sponsored video for the mattress company Simmons on his own YouTube channel. Appearing while lying on a bed, he explained, "Let me tell you the reason for this collaboration. Simmons and the Suntae Kim channel will be donating beds and mattresses worth 26 million won. These will be distributed to elderly people in need." He added, "Of course, Simmons contributed more money. My share is not that large."

He continued, "The bigger reason for this collaboration is to earn money. Making money is good for me, and it also enables donations," adding, "But it's not that I'm making money solely for the purpose of donating. I earn for my own well-being, and donations are secondary."

He stated, "Up until now, I have made donations together with companies. Separately from that, I plan to make some donations on my own," and clarified, "But there are so many comments like 'Are the numbers correct?' or 'Did you make a lot? Did you make a little?' so I will keep the amount confidential and announce the details of the donation later. I don't want to cause unnecessary controversy while doing something good."

He also said, "I'm definitely not a donation angel. As I've said several times, I do this for myself and to improve my image." He further addressed criticism, saying, "Some people claim 'You're donating to avoid paying taxes,' but what are they talking about? Getting a 30% deduction is like buying something you don't need just because it's on sale. It's obviously best not to buy it at all. Donating just for the tax deduction? That's really just 'forced criticism' (making an issue out of nothing)."

Kim emphasized, "That's not true at all. I'm not a good person; I'm someone obsessed with money. I am exactly the kind of person who is eager to make money I couldn't touch when I was a civil servant."

He concluded, "In any case, people will have something to say if I don't disclose the donation amount. Whatever I do, there will be noise," adding, "Regardless, I will continue to make donations with companies and will also make donations in my own way."

Mr. Suntae Kim. Screenshot from the YouTube channel 'Suntae Kim' video

Mr. Kim was appointed as a level 9 civil servant in 2016, and from 2019, he managed Chungju City's official YouTube channel, 'ChungTV.' He garnered attention for leading a change in public sector PR through 'B-grade sensibility' content that utilized the latest trends and memes. In recognition of this, he was promoted to level 6 at the end of 2023, achieving 'super-fast promotion' within just seven years, which also drew public interest.

After leaving public office, he launched his own personal YouTube channel, where he is currently active. He reached 1 million subscribers within three days of launching the channel, and as of April 22, he has 1.64 million subscribers.

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