Woori Bank teams up with viral ex-civil servant YouTuber

YouTuber Kim Sun-tae, known as "Chungju Man" / Captured from Kim Seon-tae's YouTube channel

Woori Bank has teamed up with rising YouTuber Kim Sun-tae, known as "Chungju Man," to produce promotional content as the lender looks to expand its marketing reach among younger audiences, industry officials said Wednesday.

The bank recently filmed a video with Kim though a release date has not been set.

Woori employees said the YouTuber was seen at the bank's headquarters in Jung District, Seoul, earlier this week. The collaboration is said to be a one-off project rather than a formal brand ambassadorship.

Kim, a former civil servant, rose to prominence for his creative content while working in media relations at the Chungju City Government. His work is widely regarded as a successful case of YouTube marketing in the public sector.

After resigning in February, Kim launched his own channel which quickly gained traction, surpassing 1 million subscribers within 48 hours.

Operating under the slogan "Promoting everything in the world," Kim has since drawn a flood of partnership offers from companies and public institutions. Dozens of firms and state-run agencies left comments on his first video, posted March 3, seeking collaborations.

Woori also joined in, commenting, "IU, Jang Won-young, T1, and now Kim Sun-tae." Singer IU and Jang of K-pop group IVE are current brand ambassadors for the bank, which also sponsors T1, one of the world's top League of Legends teams.

The collaboration with Kim comes as commercial banks increasingly turn to YouTube to reach young people.

Woori Bank has about 420,000 subscribers on its official channel and has stepped up collaborations with celebrities. A 30-second advertisement promoting the bank's retirement pension services featuring Jang, released in November, has drawn nearly 20 million views, as of Wednesday.

The bank declined to comment on the specifics of its collaboration with Kim.