Golden age for goodwill ambassadors

Goh Yeong-uk, who is under investigation for sexual assault on minors, is a goodwill ambassador for a children’s choir from a ghetto in India. He is the so-called face of a choir established by an international relief agency to help poor children through singing. In his inauguration ceremony in May, he said, “I came to know the choir while working for a TV entertainment show. I will help children to achieve miracles.” Just a week later, he was summoned by police for questioning on if he sexually assaulted a teenage girl who aspired to become a celebrity. This incident immediately stripped him of his status as a messenger of hope.

Korean pop singer Lee Hyo-ri is another example of a goodwill ambassador gone bad. She served in the role for “hanwoo,” or Korean beef, last year, but as soon as her contract period expired, she became a vegetarian. Livestock farm owners were angry over her change, saying they expected her to help raise Korean beef sales that had been hurt by foot-and-mouth disease. Because of her change in diet, they claimed they lost consumer trust. The superstar was paid 330 million won (290,000 U.S. dollars), three times more than other celebrities, to serve as goodwill ambassador. If an endorsement model undermines a brand’s reputation by getting in trouble, a company is entitled to compensation for losses. A goodwill ambassador, however, is different in that responsibility for damage is rarely taken. In Lee`s case, all the Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry could do was to call her and express regret by saying, “How could you do that?”

In theory, becoming a goodwill ambassador is lucrative. A celebrity gets major publicity while the organization earns public trust. Among the hundreds of goodwill ambassadors are more than a few celebrities. Certain organizations depend on goodwill ambassadors for their survival. “Dining Car of Love” barely avoided closure thanks to a donation of 200 million won (180,000 dollars) from Korean singer Kim Jang-hoon, an act that spurred more giving by the public. Most goodwill ambassadors, however, do little more than appearing in ads. Over the five months of her term as goodwill ambassador for school violence prevention, Korean teen singer IU merely signed autographs at a ceremony for the publication of a book related to school violence written by police officers.

Last week, the National Police Agency appointed comedians playing “Brave Guys” on the KBS TV show "Gag Concert" as goodwill ambassadors. The agency said it hopes that people will follow the comedians’ brave actions and report to police more, helping to reduce the five major forms of violence in Korea including sexual assault and organized crime. Previous goodwill ambassadors for the police were idol groups Children of the Empire and Jewelry. Despite the frequent changes in goodwill ambassadors, public security has not improved much. School violence has not been reduced and police ineptness as shown in the murder of a female college student in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, has been repeated. One suggestion is to put the focus on improving the system itself rather than holding a one-time event like appointing goodwill ambassadors.

City Desk Reporter Shin Gwang-yeong (neo@donga.com)