Kim Sun-tae, a YouTuber and former Chungju city civil servant. [Newsis]
Kim Sun-tae, a YouTuber and former Chungju city civil servant. [Newsis]

Kim Sun-tae, a YouTuber and former civil servant who rose to fame through his promotional work for Chungju, has spoken candidly about the difficult state of his business.

Kim posted a video titled "Kim Sun-tae PR" to his YouTube channel on Saturday.

While walking viewers through the production process for a V-profile project he is working on with all three major South Korean telecom carriers, Kim shared an update on his current situation.

Asked how he was doing, he said, "As you know, I'm just getting through each day. There isn't much work coming in. It's technically peak season, but for us it feels like a cold winter has arrived."

He added that a staff member who had been helping him had quit, joking with a tinge of bitterness: "Like rats being the first to flee a sinking Titanic, I think they might be one of the rats trying to survive."

He also expressed worry about the future, saying, "Running the company is a heavy burden. There's always the possibility of shutting down at any moment."

While going through his emails, Kim came across a request for a speaking engagement and said he was reconsidering his long-standing policy of turning such offers down. "I've kept saying no because I wanted to focus on YouTube content, but circumstances have changed and I'm thinking about giving lectures a try," he said. "Seeing how much news coverage I've been getting lately, I think it might not be a bad idea."

Introducing an ongoing advertising project, he said, "Honestly, I've been a bit arrogant lately. I'm going to try to work with the desperation I had at the beginning." He even bowed deeply toward the client on camera. When asked why he had accepted the project despite the pressure it placed on him, he quipped that he had no choice — drawing laughter from viewers.

On the subject of malicious online comments he has been receiving, Kim said he had spoken with a lawyer and warned that those posting such comments "would be wise to be careful," while also saying he was reluctant to file a lawsuit. "Filing a complaint is too ugly. I'm nobody," he said. He added, "Celebrities take a big hit from this kind of thing, don't they? I took a big hit too, but the supportive comments far outnumber the rest."

Earlier, in July, Kim drew criticism for what many called secondary harm when he directly referenced a past controversy involving Won-i, a member of the girl group RESCENE, on the KBS web entertainment program "Donsuntae: Age of Success." The backlash intensified after the video's thumbnail featured the phrase "What's so scary?" along with the names of individuals who had no direct connection to the episode's content.

As the controversy spread, Kim issued a personal apology and voluntarily stepped down from the program. "I think I got a little too greedy. I wanted to try being a solo MC on a terrestrial broadcast, but having done it, I realize it's not easy," he said.

He also said he had personally apologized to the RESCENE members through the head of their agency. "I am sorry again, two and three times over. This incident made me look back at myself. I thought a lot about whether I had lost sight of where I started," he said.

Kim began his career as a Grade 9 civil servant in 2016 and took charge of public relations for Chungju City Hall in 2018, building a following with his distinctive low-budget, offbeat style. He went on to lead the city's "ChungTV" channel to success, becoming a star influencer while still a public employee.

After being promoted to Grade 6 in late 2023, he stepped down as head of the new media team and left public service to launch his own channel, which attracted about 1 million subscribers within 48 hours of opening. Now six months after its launch, the channel has grown to about 1.65 million subscribers.


betterj@heraldcorp.com