J.Y. Park testifies over controversy surrounding Fanomenon as his K-pop vision faces scrutiny

J.Y. Park, founder and chief creative officer of JYP Entertainment, testified at a parliamentary audit on Wednesday over controversy surrounding his role in Fanomenon, a government-backed K-pop festival.

The K-pop mogul co-chairs the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, a ministerial-level body formed last year. He attended the hearing session voluntarily.

Park was not originally on the committee’s witness list, he told SBS Radio on Monday. He said he contacted the National Assembly himself and volunteered to appear as a formal witness, saying he wanted to directly address questions surrounding the committee’s projects.

Among the issues he was asked to explain were the trademark registration for “Fanomenon,” the motivation behind the planned mega-events and whether JYP Entertainment would receive preferential treatment.

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the main opposition People Power Party questioned why JYP Entertainment, rather than a joint venture involving the four major entertainment companies or the Culture Ministry, had filed the “Fanomenon” trademark. Park said JYP’s dedicated team had registered the name at his own expense to prevent others from taking it, with plans to transfer the rights once the project’s responsible entity was established.

Park also rejected allegations of preferential treatment for the four major agencies, saying they stood to make more money by holding their own events. “I begged YG, I begged SM and I begged Hybe,” he said, adding that the companies had accepted the possibility of losses worth tens of billions of won because they believed in the project’s long-term benefits for Korea and other industries.

Culture Minister Chae likewise said the agencies were not seeking financial benefits and that no government budget would be used for the event.

Opposition lawmakers also questioned whether Fanomenon was intended to boost the administration’s popularity ahead of the next presidential election. Park rejected the suggestion, saying he had not even known when the election would be held and that he would not have undertaken the project if he did not believe it would benefit the country and future generations.

A day before the parliamentary audit session, President Lee Jae Myung apologized to Park.

“I’m sorry to Chairman Park Jin-young. You have been working so hard to promote Korean culture around the world, even spending your own time and money without any compensation. I’m deeply sorry and regret that I was unable to show you the respect you deserved,” Lee wrote on social media.

“On behalf of the Korean people, I would like to express my gratitude to you. I know it may be presumptuous, but even if you feel disappointed, I hope you will put that behind you and work even harder so that K-pop, Korea and Korean culture can spread throughout the world,” Lee added.

Park said in the radio show that he decided to appear as a witness after learning about the difference between the two categories of parliamentary witnesses.

“I was told that a reference witness does not take an oath and cannot be prosecuted for perjury, while a witness can be punished for perjury if they lie,” Park said. “So I said, ‘Then I’ll appear as a witness.’”

Park also addressed criticism that he has been receiving approximately 2 million won ($1,400) a month in official operating expenses despite previously saying he would serve as committee co-chair without pay.

“If I didn’t receive the operating expenses, a successor could later be pressured with questions like, ‘Why are you receiving them when Park Jin-young didn’t?’” Park said. “I accepted them to create an environment in which the next person can work according to their convictions.”

He also spoke about the difficulties of serving in public office.

“Our company’s principle is not to get close to political circles, so we don’t even have a government-relations function,” he said. “But if K-pop and K-culture are to take another leap forward in global markets, administrative support that goes beyond the limitations of the private sector is necessary.”

Park said YG founder Yang Hyun-suk and Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk had also agreed to support the initiative.

“But because this is a government project involving taxpayer money, the procedures are complicated, and there are many points of friction, so it takes far more time and effort than I expected,” he said.

Earlier this year, when introducing “Fanomenon,” Park said the project grew from a vision he had pursued since JYP Entertainment’s early, costly push into the US market.

“Just imagining fans around the world turning their eyes to Seoul every December takes my breath away,” he said. “This is a hard, almost absurd thing to pull off. Please help us a little.”