Three Seoul district offices have drawn attention for appointing newly promoted officials to lead their communications departments.
The three are Kim Hyeon-ja, communications director of Gwangjin-gu; Kim Woo-jin, communications director of Songpa-gu; and Seo Hyeon-ok, communications director of Guro-gu.
All three completed a training program for newly promoted Grade 5 officials at the Seoul Human Resource Development Institute through Friday, then received their formal appointment letters from their respective district mayors on Saturday.
Kim Hyeon-ja spent two years as head of the media team in Gwangjin-gu before being promoted to Grade 5 and immediately tapped to oversee the district's communications operations.
Kim Woo-jin also came up as a media team head in Songpa-gu. He later moved to lead the traffic administration team before earning his Grade 5 promotion and being assigned as communications director.
Both Kim Hyeon-ja and Kim Woo-jin are seasoned communications professionals with hands-on experience running media teams, and are expected to handle press relations and district promotion with confidence.
Seo Hyeon-ok previously headed the welfare planning team in Guro-gu before her promotion to Grade 5. The communications director post is her first assignment as a newly promoted official.
Guro-gu has now appointed a newly promoted official to the communications director role for the second consecutive time, drawing notice for entrusting a newly minted department head with the significant responsibility of overseeing the district's public affairs.
The communications director role covers not only press relations but also message management for major district policies and oversight of online, video and social media outreach — making it one of the most consequential posts in any district office. How the three new directors navigate a rapidly shifting media landscape and effectively promote their districts' policies and achievements will be closely watched.
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