The joint venture formed by Hybe, SM, JYP and YG Entertainment to run Fanomenon, the government-backed K-pop festival slated for December 2027, was officially registered on Oct. 26, according to its corporate registry.
Fanomenon Co. was launched with 4 billion won ($3 million) in paid-in capital, consisting of 800,000 common shares at 5,000 won each. Its articles allow for up to 5 million shares, leaving room to raise capital of up to 25 billion won.
Park Yun-suh, born in 1993, will run the newly established company as CEO and sole inside director. Park previously worked at Hybe and JYP Entertainment. Each of the four agencies has placed one non-executive director on the board, which also includes an auditor.
The company’s stated business goes well beyond staging a festival. Its purpose clause covers operating and acquiring rights to performance venues, selling and brokering tickets, producing and distributing food, fashion and merchandise, investing across the culture and entertainment industries, and licensing intellectual property.
Fanomenon will be held Dec. 2-12 next year at Seoul Arena in Changdong and Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, combining K-pop concerts, fandom awards and corporate exhibitions.
The company’s launch follows a dispute over the Fanomenon trademark, which JYP filed on its own. At a parliamentary audit on Oct. 7, Park, who co-chairs the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, said JYP’s team had registered the name at his own expense to keep others from taking it, planning to transfer the rights once the project’s responsible entity was set up. A revised contract submitted to the National Assembly on Oct. 23 reportedly splits the trademark rights 50-50 between the Culture Ministry and the joint venture, and Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young said the ministry would review taking a more direct role in the company.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
