Park Jin-young, co-chair of the Presidential Cultural Exchange Committee, stated, "I have never thought about working for President Lee Jae-myung."
During a National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on October 7, Park emphasized, "I do not have even 1% of a thought in my heart about working for this administration or the Democratic Party."
Rep. Jo Eun-hee of the People Power Party questioned Park about how he came to take on the role of co-chair after accepting a proposal from Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik. She also referenced a recent photo taken with President Lee in Mexico, expressing concern that Park might be aligning himself with the administration, saying, "I worry that you might be going along with the rise and fall of this government."
In response, Park explained, "I am doing this work because I believe it will truly help the next generation," urging her to trust him. He added that he joined the Cultural Exchange Committee out of fear that K-pop might fade away like Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s.
The audit also scrutinized the government's K-Culture project, 'Phenomenon.' Park acknowledged concerns about the clarity of the project's implementation and management, stating, "We are determining operations on a case-by-case basis according to the project."
Regarding JYP's prior trademark application related to Phenomenon, Park admitted, "It is not normal for a company like JYP to apply first and then hand it over to the government, but it was done in good faith." He confirmed that they promised to transfer the trademark rights to the government in the future.
Additionally, Park explained that the agencies participating in Phenomenon are sacrificing immediate profits to engage in the project. He noted, "If the representatives of the four companies perform separately, they could earn two to three times more," adding, "We are incurring hundreds of millions of won in losses right now, but we believe in the long-term vision and the potential for effects in other industries."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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