Park Jinyoung to Stand as Witness at National Audit Today; President Lee Jae-myung Says, 'Sorry for Not Providing Proper Treatment'

Park Jinyoung, co-chairperson of the Presidential Committee for Pop Culture Exchange, will take the witness stand for a parliamentary audit today (October 7).

The National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee will hold a parliamentary audit targeting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism starting at 10 a.m. today. Park Jinyoung will attend as a witness to answer lawmakers' questions and will also have a separate session for reporting on the committee's operations.

Previously, Representative Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party, a member of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, posted on social media on September 25, saying, 'I inevitably intend to have Jinyoung, Chairperson Park Jinyoung, at the audit site,' and adding, 'You must explain directly to the public whether this is a special privilege or a hotbed of irregularities.' On September 29, Representative Bae released committee data showing that Park Jinyoung had received an executive activity allowance of approximately 2 million won every month from November of last year to August of this year, accumulating to over 20 million won.

In response to these claims, Park Jinyoung directly complied with the request to attend. Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Chairperson Lee Jae-jung stated at a plenary meeting on September 29, 'Co-chairperson Park Jinyoung directly expressed his intention to attend through this chairperson this morning. He expressed a strong willingness to make a business report to the public as a witness, not just a reference witness, and to have an opportunity to provide a sufficient explanation.' Unlike reference witnesses, official witnesses take an oath and can be punished for perjury if they give false testimony.

On October 6, the day before the audit, President Lee Jae-myung directly mentioned Park Jinyoung. President Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter), 'You are devoting yourself so much to exporting South Korean culture by spending your own time and money without any compensation, and I am deeply regretful and sorry that we have not been able to provide you with proper treatment.' He continued, 'The people of South Korea and the cultural history of South Korea will remember Jinyoung's dedication and hard work,' adding, 'Although it is shameless of me, I hope you will put aside any disappointment and run a little further so that K-pop and South Korean culture can spread across the world.'

On the same day, Park Jinyoung also appeared on SBS Radio's 'Political Show with Kim Tae-hyun' and explained various suspicions for about 30 minutes. Regarding trademark rights, he stated, 'It costs 40 million won domestically and at least 600 to 700 million won overseas. If someone else registers it, we cannot use it. Our company has a team that does this, so I registered it with my own money first and intended to transfer it once a person in charge is assigned.' He then asked, 'This is a project united by four companies; if our company holds the trademark rights, who would cooperate?'

Regarding receiving the 2 million won per month, he said, 'I didn't know I was receiving it in the first place.' He explained, 'Since it was said to be unpaid, I can just return it. Actually, I have a stronger desire to do so,' but added, 'If I don't receive it, the next person will likely be told, 'Park Jinyoung didn't receive it, why are you receiving it?' making it difficult to do this work.' Regarding the controversy over his business trip to the United States, he said, 'I was told to go out again for company work right after returning to Korea after doing government work. If it is done this way, no one will do this job,' pointing out that a system for the public and private sectors to work together has not been established.

The word Park Jinyoung emphasized most on this day was 'sincerity'. He said, 'The hardest part of working is not having problems pointed out. If it is correct, you just say you are sorry and fix it; if it is a misunderstanding, you clear it up,' adding, 'The hardest part is having your sincerity doubted.' He stated that this was also the reason he volunteered to attend as a witness. He noted, 'I was told that reference witnesses do not take an oath, so there is no probability of being accused of perjury. Therefore, I said I would do it as a witness, where there is a probability of being punished,' and added, 'I thought people would believe me only if I could be punished for perjury.'

Park Jinyoung stated, 'I will answer honestly to everything pointed out,' and added, 'If it is just conveyed that this is not pursuing private profit under the guise of pursuing public interest, I would have nothing more to wish for.'

(SBS Entertainment News, Reporter Kang Kyung-yun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.