South Korea’s Gwangju district criticised for using female officials as mayor’s backup dancers

SEOUL – A district office in South Korea’s Gwangju is under fire after eight female civil servants appeared as backup dancers during a performance by Gwangju Buk-gu district Mayor Moon In.

The performance took place on Nov 6 at Donggang University during filming for the KBS programme National Singing Contest, which drew more than 1,000 audience members.

Mr Moon took the stage to sing Yoon Soo-il’s 1985 hit Apartment, with the civil servants dancing behind him.

The women, wearing sunglasses and headscarves and holding pompoms, had reportedly submitted official duty travel requests to attend the event.

Many critics said that dancing behind the mayor hardly qualifies as public work and that having only women as dancers raises additional concerns.

The Gwangju Government Employees’ Union condemned the decision, saying: “Using civil servants as props undermines the dignity of public officials. Even if they volunteered, the mayor is responsible for allowing it.”

The Gwangju branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions also blasted the district office, calling the use of duty travel for backup dancing “a clear waste of taxpayer money” and saying that relying on “volunteering” to mobilise female officials “shows just how weak their gender awareness is”.

Mr Moon apologised in a statement, saying the travel requests were submitted based on “individual judgment”.

He said no rehearsals were held and no travel expenses were paid, and added that he would “humbly accept concerns raised about only female officials participating”. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK