Chungju Mayor Lee Dong-seok offers 'Chungju Man' Kim Suntae return to post

Kim Suntae, the former public relations officer for Chungju City who gained fame as 'Chungju Man,' has drawn significant attention after the new Mayor of Chungju personally proposed his reinstatement following recent controversies.

On the 7th, Kim released a short video titled 'Kim Suntae's Current Status' on his YouTube channel. The video was produced as a parody of the 2015 film 'Inside Men.'

In the video, Kim adopts a line used by Lee Geung-young, who played the role of Jang Pil-woo in the film, saying, "It's lonely." This is interpreted as a metaphorical expression of his current situation, having voluntarily stepped down from a program following recent controversies on a KBS web variety show.

However, what drew even more attention than the video itself were the comments. Lee Dong-seok, the new Mayor of Chungju, appeared directly to propose Kim's return.

The Mayor left a comment on Kim's video stating, "I am the new Mayor of Chungju. Do you have any intention of returning to Chungju City Hall?" This marks a public mention by the Mayor regarding the possibility of the former PR officer's return.

Upon seeing this, netizens reacted with interest, saying things like, "This is surprising," "How pleasant," and "Is Chungju Man coming back?" In particular, attention is focused on whether Kim, who built nationwide recognition through unique content and unconventional communication methods while managing Chungju City's promotion, will return.

Kim previously found himself at the center of controversy after appearing on the KBS web variety show 'KBS Original - Don Seon-tae's Era of Success.'

In the content released on the 29th of last month, Kim, acting as the MC, mentioned a story related to a dialect controversy involving the phrase 'Museopno' (Is it scary?) addressed to Woni, a member of the girl group RESCENE. The controversy escalated when the production team used the phrase 'What is scary?' in the thumbnail and included the names of politicians such as '#Lee Jae-myung' and '#Han Dong-hoon' in the video tags.

Some critics raised concerns that the content could constitute 'secondary victimization' by placing additional psychological pressure on the RESCENE member who had already dealt with controversy.

Ultimately, Kim apologized for the controversy and voluntarily withdrew from the program. KBS also announced through an official statement that it would cancel both the digital release and the broadcast scheduling of 'Don Seon-tae's Era of Success.' The network added, "We apologize to the viewers who felt discomfort and concern, and to the performer who suffered psychological pressure and hurt in relation to the content."

Although the video released by Kim after the controversy was short, it left a lingering impression. To the question of whether a civil servant who built nationwide fame as 'Chungju Man' could return to Chungju City after leaving, the new Mayor has now extended a hand first.

However, what has been made public is merely a proposal in the form of a comment from the Mayor; it has not been confirmed whether Kim has actually decided to return or is conducting specific discussions with Chungju City.

Attention is now gathering on whether 'Chungju Man,' who was once evaluated as having created a new formula for local government promotion, will return to public office or continue his activities in a new way.