The person in the "piggyback" flood relief video was not the Buk-gu District Mayor... it was a Daegu Metropolitan City official

The person carrying was a Buk-gu District official... The two have a history of working together at Daegu City
The individuals involved stated, "It was a joke between seniors and juniors... We apologize for behavior that caused misunderstanding at a disaster site"
Allegations regarding Mayor Lee Geun-su are different from the facts... City audit department confirms facts
▲ On August 30, civil servants and recovery workers are clearing mud and sediment piled on the road in Joya-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, where flooding damage occurred due to heavy rain. Controversy arose late after a video was filmed at a flood recovery site in this area showing a Daegu City official being carried on the back of a Buk-gu District official while crossing through mud. Reporter Kim Min-gyu
The individuals in the video that caused controversy—showing a civil servant being carried on the back of another civil servant through mud at a flood recovery site in Buk-gu, Daegu—have been identified. It has been determined that the person being carried is a Daegu City official, and the person carrying is a Buk-gu District official.
According to a comprehensive report by Gyeongbuk Ilbo on the 6th, Person A, who was carrying another official on their back through the mud in the video, is an official belonging to the Buk-gu District Office. Person B, who was being carried by Person A, was confirmed to be a Daegu Metropolitan City official, not the Buk-gu District official or the current Buk-gu District Mayor as previously suggested by some.
Allegations raised by some circles, such as "Wasn't the person in the video the current Buk-gu Mayor Lee Geun-su, who was the Deputy Mayor of Buk-gu at the time?", were also found to be different from the facts. Although both individuals in the video were wearing yellow disaster jackets, Mayor Lee, who was at the scene at the time, was wearing a green jacket.
The controversial scene was filmed in Joya-dong, Buk-gu, which suffered flooding damage due to heavy rain on August 30. At the time, affected residents, Buk-gu District employees, Daegu City officials, and recovery personnel including police and fire services were deployed to the scene.
The late-released video captured one official carrying another on their back through the mud. This stood in stark contrast to the residents and recovery workers clearing away mud, leading to criticism that "they were carried to avoid getting mud on their shoes."
According to the investigation, the two individuals are known to each other from having worked together at Daegu City in the past. Person A has been working at the Buk-gu District Office since transferring from Daegu City in January this year.
It is reported that Person A explained that their shoes were already soaked in mud at the time, and the incident occurred while moving together with Person B, whom they knew personally.
Voices from local politics have also called for a verification of the facts. Choi Woo-young, the chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea's Daegu Buk-gu Eul regional committee, mentioned the video on his social media (SNS) and expressed the position that a truth investigation is necessary.
In response, Person A stated, "Since we are school seniors and juniors and are very close, it seems that a joke we played at the time has become a controversy," and added, "There was absolutely no other intention, and I feel sorry for engaging in behavior that caused misunderstanding at a disaster site."
The Buk-gu District Office has maintained the position that it is difficult to identify the individuals from the video alone, as officials from not only Buk-gu but also Daegu City, the police, and the fire service were deployed to the scene at the time. Regarding allegations of requests to delete the video raised after its release, the parties involved are also reported to maintain that this is not true.
It is reported that the Daegu Metropolitan City audit department has also verified the facts regarding the individuals involved and the situation at the scene at the time in relation to this controversy.
Source: Gyeongbuk Ilbo