Seoul Metropolitan Government Signs 370 Million Won Contract with Wife's Company of 'Honorary Mayor' Shin Hyun-joon… Allegations of Preferential Treatment

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[Financial News] Allegations of preferential treatment have been raised regarding the Seoul Metropolitan Government's signing of a promotional video production contract worth approximately 370 million won with a company operated by the spouse of actor Shin Hyun-joon, who was appointed as an Honorary Mayor. Critics also pointed out that the Seoul Metropolitan Government failed to separately review the company's production track record during the contracting process.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Council on the 5th, Representative Yoon Sun-hee (Democratic Party of Korea, Jongno 1) of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee questioned the appropriateness of promotional video production contracts signed with companies related to Honorary Mayors and ambassadors during the administrative audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Public Relations Planning Bureau the previous day.
According to Rep. Yoon, 'Jace & River,' a company where Shin Hyun-joon's spouse serves as CEO, signed a contract to produce Seoul Metropolitan Government YouTube videos featuring Shin Hyun-joon. The total contract value is 375.65 million won.
Shin Hyun-joon was appointed as an Honorary Mayor of Seoul last September, alongside actor Jung Joon-ho and volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung. An Honorary Mayor is an unpaid honorary position appointed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to reflect citizens' voices in municipal administration.
Rep. Yoon pointed out that Jace & River is a company that has been engaged in the design of bags, clothing, and miscellaneous goods, and that it secured the Seoul Metropolitan Government video project after adding film production and advertising/promotional video production to its registered business categories in March last year.
Regarding this, Rep. Yoon remarked, "Only the business categories were added to the registration; the original business of this company is a fashion and bag company. It is already hard to accept that they secured a Seoul Metropolitan Government contract simply because they are the spouse of the Honorary Mayor, but do you believe it is justifiable for a bag company to win a public video contract worth hundreds of millions of won?"
She continued, "Each episode costs over 50 million won, and based on what is visible now, they spent about 400 million won in taxpayer money on private contracts without even looking at the company's track record. If we look at this reasonably, it looks like Mr. Shin Hyun-joon is acting impressively as an unpaid Honorary Mayor in public, while behind the scenes, the city is taking care of his family's corporation."
Whether the company's video production track record was reviewed at the time of the contract also became a point of contention. Kim Hyung-rae, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Public Relations Planning Bureau Director, explained in response to related questions, "We do not grant private contracts while reviewing a company's track record."
When asked whether they had confirmed whether the company produced the videos directly or subcontracted them, he replied, "We are not aware of the specific details of the contract situation, but it would have certainly been handled according to regulations."
In response, Jace & River explained, "We have produced numerous branded contents for the Seoul Metropolitan Government even before (Shin Hyun-joon's) appointment as Honorary Mayor, and the production of content related to Seoul is not a business that newly started after the appointment of the Honorary Mayor."
Meanwhile, a contract with a company represented by economic YouTuber Syuka (real name Jeon Seok-jae), who is a Seoul Metropolitan Government ambassador, also came under scrutiny.
Rep. Yoon stated that 'Syuka Friends' produced 21 Seoul Metropolitan Government promotional videos for a total of 406.56 million won from January last year to September this year.
She criticized, "If they set someone up as an unpaid honorary ambassador in public and then handed over more than 400 million won in production costs to a company represented by that ambassador behind the scenes, it is indirect preferential treatment."
She further urged, "To ensure that work is never funneled to family corporations using citizens' taxes under the guise of honorary positions, the contracting status of all agencies within the Seoul Metropolitan Government must be thoroughly inspected and corrected."