Former 'Chungju Man' Kim Seon-tae Opens Up About Life After Resigning as a Public Official

Kim Seon-tae, who gained fame as 'Chungju Man' through the Chungju City promotional channel, shared updates on his life after resigning from his public official position.

On the October 18th episode of MBC's 'Radio Star,' themed 'Laughter Officials,' Kim Seon-tae appeared to discuss the reasons behind his resignation and his future plans.

During the show, Kim introduced himself as "now a free man." When host Kim Gura jokingly asked if he was starting as a liar since he once said he would dedicate his life to being a public official, Kim humorously replied, "I was sincere back then, but now I've left the bones and only the flesh remains."

His resignation was a planned decision. Kim explained, "My goal was to leave while receiving applause. I achieved the subscriber count I aimed for, and I felt all the pieces were in place."

After resigning, he received numerous offers. "I got calls from private companies and production companies," he said. "There was even talk about the Blue House, but I didn't engage because I was still a public official at the time." Despite the offers, he chose to go solo. "I was tired of being part of an organization," Kim stated, "I want to create content freely."

Unexpected situations arose during his resignation process. Information leaked before the official announcement, leading to what he called a 'resignation spoiler.' "I planned to announce it 2-3 weeks later, but the news broke early," he recalled. "I woke up from a nap to find over 400 missed calls." When asked if he knew who leaked the information, Kim replied, "I have no idea. Such news tends to spread quickly."

He added, "I intended to show the resignation process as a YouTube content video, but the situation escalated, so I had to upload the video immediately."

With 1.46 million subscribers, Kim also shared his concerns about the overwhelming attention. "Even before uploading my first video, the subscriber count surged, which honestly scared me," he admitted. "There were so many articles after my resignation that I couldn't sleep well for a while."

Regarding his moving plans, Kim stated, "I still live in Chungju and have no immediate plans to move," adding humorously, "I'm just a funny person in the countryside."

Meanwhile, on October 9th, a document titled 'Kim Seon-tae (YouTube) Channel Introduction' circulated online, sparking controversy over the channel's highest ad rate being 100 million won. Kim also revealed, "I delayed applying for YouTube revenue, so I haven't received any earnings yet," which drew further attention.

Reporter Na-yeon Cho, Ten Asia nybluebook@tenasia.co.kr