Comedian Lee Su-ji's civil servant parody stirs political row over 're-election' chant

Lee Su-ji [YouTube channel 'Hot Issue Ji']

Comedian Lee Su-ji has found herself at the center of a political controversy after a parody video about a civil servant bombarded with gapjil complaints briefly featured protesters chanting for a "re-election." Lee edited out the scene after backlash, but online users remain divided along political lines.

Lee uploaded the video to her YouTube channel "Hot Issue Ji" on Tuesday, titling it "Civil Servant Kim Ji-young's Fight to Keep Her Iron Rice Bowl [Human Documentary: The Real Extreme Job]."

In the video, Lee plays "rookie civil servant Kim Ji-young," who is subjected to a relentless stream of unreasonable complaints from the public.

Kim's workday begins the moment she arrives at the office, when her team leader scolds her for wearing shorts — "You're a civil servant and you showed up dressed this cool? Did you think you were going to a water park?"

That is only the beginning. Complainants show up before the workday even starts, demanding documents and asking for bus routes — matters entirely outside a civil servant's duties. One engaged couple, there to register their marriage, grumbles that Kim failed to congratulate them warmly enough.

Kim also recounts how drinking a takeout coffee at her desk prompted a complaint that civil servants were wasting taxpayer money on coffee, forcing her to brew her own in the office from then on.

As the newest hire, Kim is also saddled with tasks her senior colleagues avoid. Her team leader invokes the "Chungju Man" — a reference to a viral civil servant known for his YouTube presence — and assigns Kim full responsibility for running the office's YouTube channel, setting a target of 1 million views. Kim laments, "I should have been practicing dance moves instead of studying administrative law," before producing a promotional video in which she raps and dances.

The video surpassed 800,000 views within a day of its release on Wednesday, drawing wide attention. Many civil servants shared their own gapjil complaint stories in solidarity. Lee had previously parodied similar complaint culture at kindergartens and hospitals, both of which also went viral.

'Re-election' chant in complaint scene splits viewers: 'Was Lee a leftist?' vs. 'Rooting for her now'

One scene, however, has ignited controversy. In a moment showing Kim's expression darkening under the weight of complaints, the voices of protesters chanting "re-election" can be heard in the background.

Some online users who support holding a re-run of the June 3 local elections seized on the scene, arguing that Lee had treated a legitimate protest as just another nuisance complaint.

Lee's team responded by re-uploading an edited version with the scene removed, but the controversy has continued, with users splitting sharply along political lines. Those calling for a re-election left comments such as "Editing the video doesn't cut it — take it down entirely," "Apologize," and "Was Lee Su-ji a leftist all along? Her image just went off a cliff." Users opposed to a re-election fired back with comments including "I'm now a fierce Lee Su-ji supporter," "The far right got triggered watching the video," and "It's a fact that far-right people are the worst complainers."

paq@heraldcorp.com