- A pleasant tension ahead of the parliamentary audit... I will convey my sincerity
- 'Stay away from politics' as a creed... Initially rejected government's offer
- Limits to the private sector alone... Accepted co-chair role on condition of concurrently running company business
- K-pop reaches its initial ceiling... Has gone as far as it can as 'Korean content'
- Hong Kong cinema in the 80s, reggae in the 90s, K-pop in the 2000s
- Could end up as a temporary fad... A foundation for longevity is needed
- PHENOMENON aims to transform content into a 'fandom industry'
- Different from the Grammys... 'Fandoms,' not singers, will be the award winners
- Doubts that public interest is a pretext for private gain are the hardest to bear
- Volunteered to appear as a witness at the audit... Believing only with the legal weight of perjury
- A 4-company collaboration, yet JYP monopolizes the trademark? Who would cooperate?
- Trademark split 50-50 between government and private sector... A safeguard to prevent private gain
- Unaware of compensation... Worried returning it would burden my successor
- Handled public and corporate duties concurrently on overseas trips despite internal pushback
- Who would take on government work?... Must set a precedent for public-private cooperation

■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 – 9:00 AM)
■ Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
■ Host: Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Park Jin-young, Co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee

▷Kim Tae-hyun: A man who wrote hit songs, sang well, danced well, and created stars has now stepped forward to build a new stage for K-culture. We will directly ask him what he intends to do, why he must work with the government, and address the controversies that have arisen along the way. "JYP." That is how you do it, right? We have Park Jin-young, Co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee. Hello.

▶Park Jin-young: JYP. Hello, I am Park Jin-young.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Hearing it from you rather than me, the "half air, half sound" definitely comes through better. Right? JYP. Is that right? Because when you listen to the songs Co-chair Park has made, that signature is featured so often—both in your own songs and those of your agency's artists. That always left an impression on me. Speaking of you, Mr. Co-chair, it is definitely "half air, half sound." How is my vocalization?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes, it is good.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Among all the guests we have hosted on Political Show, Co-chair Park probably has the highest nationwide name recognition. That is because the President hasn't visited us yet. Compared to various politicians, you are a star guest with nationwide recognition. How do you feel? You have stood on so many national stages. Tomorrow, you have to appear at the parliamentary audit. You have experienced many big stages, but a stage and a parliamentary audit are completely different arenas. Aren't you a bit nervous?

▶Park Jin-young: It is a very pleasant tension.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: A pleasant tension?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: But the offensive from opposition lawmakers is likely to be fierce, so it might not be all pleasant.

▶Park Jin-young: I have never appeared at a parliamentary audit before, but I have watched many, so I know the atmosphere well. Nevertheless, if I honestly convey the truth and my sincere intentions, I think it will be a very meaningful occasion.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Let's start with this. When the Lee Jae-myung administration first took office and announced its ministerial-level appointments, the appointment that drew the most attention and surprise was Park Jin-young, JYP, serving as Chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee—I believe they also call you Representative Producer. First, could you explain what the Popular Culture Exchange Committee does?

▶Park Jin-young: I received a call not long after the administration took office. But our company's creed is to keep our distance from politics.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Right.

▶Park Jin-young: For a company of our size, it is rare not to have a government relations department.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: You don't have a government relations department?

▶Park Jin-young: We have no government affairs department, no government relations staff, and we don't engage in it at all. We completely steer clear of government relations.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.

▶Park Jin-young: So even when something like this came up, they didn't even know how to contact our company, genuinely. They had to ask around before finally reaching out. When they asked to meet, I met with Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik. But I had an uneasy feeling, like they were going to ask me to take on a role. So I went into the meeting thinking about how to turn it down. In the end, they asked if the government could help popular culture, K-culture, and our nation's culture grow further, and asked me to take the job, but I declined. Because what my company needs to do right now is far too important. For the sake of our country's culture, there are things our company must do. Right now, K-pop is spearheading K-culture, and within K-pop, the four major agencies are at the very forefront. These agencies need to do well for K-pop to thrive, and only then can it spread into K-culture as a whole. So I initially turned it down.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.

▶Park Jin-young: The reason I eventually decided to take it on was that they told me I could do it while continuing my company work.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: On a non-standing basis.

▶Park Jin-young: Yes. On a non-standing basis. When I said that stepping down from my company duties right now would cause major problems, they offered it as a non-standing post, telling me I could do both. Then I asked, "What about this? What about that?" They resolved all those issues, so I ended up taking it. Returning to your original question about what the role is, it is to help K-culture grow further and ensure it lasts longer. Because K-pop plays such a crucial role, the task is to help K-pop grow further, make it sustainable, allow it to spread across K-culture as a whole, and have a positive global impact—not through exclusionary growth. That is what we are doing.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: But as you mentioned, artists from all four major agencies—JYP, SM, YG, and HYBE—are already active worldwide.

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Even if those four companies just do well on their own, K-pop and K-culture would grow. Why did the government need to step in and create this committee? For support?

▶Park Jin-young: To cut to the chase, there are limits.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Limits to what the private sector can do alone?

▶Park Jin-young: There are limits to what the private sector can achieve alone, and on the front lines, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, Hyunsuk (Yang Hyun-suk), and I have hit a wall. In order to move from this stage to the next, there was a shared consensus that uniting our strengths to build a platform or establish a better system would make it easier to leap to the next level. That is why I agreed to take on this role. Hyunsuk (Yang Hyun-suk) and Si-hyuk both agreed to help, so we joined forces. Because it was necessary.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: You are saying government support helps the growth. In another broadcast interview, you mentioned "employment fraud." Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik initially said, "Keep doing your company work and just help out on a non-standing basis." That was how it started, right?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: But after doing it, you felt it was so tough. Why did the phrase "employment fraud" come up?

▶Park Jin-young: It's not that the work itself is hard, but it was my first time experiencing what it is like to work with a government organization. Since public tax dollars are being spent, the procedures and everything turned out to be surprisingly strict and complicated.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Naturally.

▶Park Jin-young: And whenever I try to do something, I run into so many obstacles. Resolving those issues takes an unexpectedly large amount of time and effort. The actual work we need to do for K-pop and K-culture is exciting—even now, my heart races every day thinking about it. But the procedures...

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Right, understandably.

▶Park Jin-young: Wow, it really isn't easy. But I think that's only natural, since it involves taxpayer money.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Lawmakers will probably ask a lot about those procedures during tomorrow's audit, so we will discuss that in a moment as a practice run. First, when thinking of JYP, for me it's "Don't Leave Me"—was that 1993?

▶Park Jin-young: 1994.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: 1994?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: I bought two or three copies of that album back then. Why did I buy two or three of the same album? Did I want to listen to one in the car and one at home? I bought many of your albums, starting from "Proposal Song." I bought practically everything. In any case, among the major entertainment companies, JYP was the very first to attempt entering the U.S. market with its agency artists, with the Wonder Girls.

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Although SM had previously entered Japan.

▶Park Jin-young: Taking the Wonder Girls happened after that; we started preparing in 2007. When Si-hyuk and I first went over together, that was in 2003.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: With Chairman Bang Si-hyuk.

▶Park Jin-young: At that time, Daum Communications owned 50% of our company. So when I said I was heading to the U.S., they vehemently opposed it—absolutely not. Not a single cent of company money could be spent. The reason was simple: there was no probability of success.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Back then, that made sense.

▶Park Jin-young: It sounded ridiculous. So they said if I wanted to go with my personal funds, go ahead, but if I couldn't get a song onto a Billboard Top 10 album within a year—because JYP Entertainment's success in Korea largely stemmed from my ability as a songwriter—if you prove your ability as a songwriter in the U.S., then an official company expansion...

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Would be supported.

▶Park Jin-young: So that is how I went over. For that entire year, I couldn't use company funds and had to pay out of pocket, but up until then, I had put all my copyright royalties into the company's revenue. So I had no personal money.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Right.

▶Park Jin-young: So Si-hyuk and I crashed at an acquaintance's house. We rented a single room and built a studio in an empty spot in the basement parking lot. But in the 11th month, we got a song onto a Billboard Top 10 album. Daum, our 50% shareholder, was shocked. They told us to go ahead. From then on, we went with budget funds—and lost it all.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Hearing stories from when the Wonder Girls entered the U.S., you went through so much hardship. You shared many stories about that on TV.

▶Park Jin-young: The Lehman Brothers collapse was simply such a huge shock in my life. We had prepared about four projects back then. All we had to do was launch them, but when the Lehman Brothers financial crisis hit, everything shut down—literally everything. Having wagered what was truly an astronomical sum of money at that time, my world went dark. If we had tried and failed, we could have analyzed the cause, but it was like training for a boxing match only to have the match canceled. Yet all the sweat, effort, and money poured in up to that point... It felt so unfair. I remember being completely devastated then. Despite that, our next challenge was the Wonder Girls, and they became the first in South Korean history to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Times are very different now, aren't they? When artists go abroad. Compared to when the Wonder Girls first ventured out versus now, with Stray Kids and TWICE going out, the difference must be night and day.

▶Park Jin-young: I cannot talk about this without tears. Truly.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: I've heard a lot about it too. I remember the stories you shared on variety shows in the past about performing with the Wonder Girls. The status of K-pop itself between then and now is worlds apart.

▶Park Jin-young: Back then, waiting two hours in the lobby just to meet working-level staff was standard. Today, the owners of those companies—the people who run entertainment across the U.S. and the world—fly to Korea for meetings.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: To that extent?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: In less than 20 years, that is an incredible...

▶Park Jin-young: It's unbelievable. It took exactly 20 years.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: What was the biggest secret behind K-pop rising to dominate the global pop market in just 20 years?

▶Park Jin-young: The core, of course, was the blood, sweat, and tears of the artists and fans. In terms of the surrounding system, the biggest factor was digitalization. Instead of people watching local media in each country—like SBS in Korea or MTV in the U.S.—the medium of YouTube emerged.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: I see.

▶Park Jin-young: Second, the language barrier broke down. The biggest reasons I believed K-pop could succeed in the U.S. were: American youth aren't watching local media anymore; third, they don't look at skin color; and language seemed like something that could be resolved. Even though the odds were under 10% back then, those three things convinced me to take on the challenge.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Right. If they don't care about the medium and don't care about skin color, you can compete.

▶Park Jin-young: And language.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Language can also be done in English, and Korean songs are so good anyway. Understood. Last week, I interviewed Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication Sung Ki-hong. You accompanied the presidential couple to Mexico, right? You watched Stray Kids perform there, and he shared an anecdote that everyone present was surprised when First Lady Kim Hye-kyung even knew the nickname 'Bang-beoji' (Bang-father). Since you were there, what is the atmosphere like in Mexico regarding K-pop?

▶Park Jin-young: If you had to pick the hottest spot in the world, it would be among them.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Really?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Even more than the U.S. market?

▶Park Jin-young: In terms of scale, the U.S. market is larger.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Naturally.

▶Park Jin-young: But in terms of fervor, one could say Mexico is in some ways even hotter.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: I saw footage of fans swarming in front of the presidential palace. So it really is that intense.

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: K-pop is doing so well right now, including JYP artists. But some people point out that while thriving is great, there are also aspects of crisis. Why is that?

▶Park Jin-young: Rather than a crisis, it is accurate to say we have reached our initial ceiling. That is why I took on this government role.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Why an initial ceiling? In what sense?

▶Park Jin-young: The initial ceiling means, in the end, how far this K-pop market can expand in its current state—without localization. In other words, under the label of "Korean singer" or "Korean content," I think it has gone about as far as it can go.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Are you saying it should now reach a point where people can't tell whether it's a Korean, Japanese, or American singer?

▶Park Jin-young: The next stage is debuting American singers in the U.S. and Mexican singers in Mexico.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Ah, in that way.

▶Park Jin-young: We actually did this in Asia. The barrier was low in Asia because even if you debut a Japanese singer in Japan, they look the same. Debut a Chinese singer in China, and they look the same. But now this is a different ball game. Moving into the West, appearances are completely different and cultures are very different. So localizing there is an entirely different level from our localization in Japan or China.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: So you mean, for example, instead of creating Stray Kids in Korea and debuting them in the U.S., JYP goes to America and forms an idol group entirely of white or Black American members and makes them successful—that kind of thing?

▶Park Jin-young: Exactly. All four agencies share this vision to some extent, but HYBE and JYP are pursuing it most earnestly, aggressively investing substantial time, effort, and money.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Based on these experiences and reflections, you are promoting 'PHENOMENON.' What kind of event is this?

▶Park Jin-young: It is an awards ceremony. An awards ceremony and festival, but the core is the awards. Historically, there have been times when a single popular culture completely took the world by storm. For example, Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s, or Latin reggae music in the 1990s. K-pop could very well follow that pattern. The likelihood is high.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Sweeping the globe.

▶Park Jin-young: Right. So what I keep pondering is that, from a national perspective, this is definitely an area where we currently have a comparative advantage. If you were asked to name ten things where South Korea clearly holds a comparative advantage, this would be one of them.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's true.

▶Park Jin-young: Furthermore, even if the revenue alone isn't colossal, the intangible national benefits—benefits not reflected on balance sheets—are immense.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Intangible benefits.

▶Park Jin-young: Exactly. Because the image of our country spreads across all sectors. Therefore, making this bigger and lasting longer brings enormous benefits to the nation.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's true.

▶Park Jin-young: So I asked from what perspective we should approach this, and the goal is transforming content into an industry. Right now, K-pop is content. But if we convert this into a "fandom industry" and South Korea takes the lead in this industry, it moves to an entirely different dimension. Then it won't be a story of K-pop surging in the 2000s and disappearing; it will endure as an industry. So how do we transform it into an industry, and how can our country maintain leadership in it? I thought of something like the Nobel Prize.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: The Nobel Prize?

▶Park Jin-young: Every year when the Nobel season arrives, all eyes turn toward it.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's right.

▶Park Jin-young: And at this point, it isn't easy for any country to create an award that replaces the Nobel Prize.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Of course.

▶Park Jin-young: If we define the fandom industry and begin awarding the artists or companies that have excelled from the perspective of this fandom industry...

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Giving awards to artists and companies that excelled in the fandom industry?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's a somewhat different concept from before. For instance, the Grammys give awards to good songs and good albums. Instead of that, you reward companies that excelled in the fandom industry?

▶Park Jin-young: That's right. We receive many consulting requests—global corporations ask JYP for consulting and advice. Whether they make mobile phones or operate in B2C—B2B is a bit different—in B2C, how to create passionate customers is the primary topic. Looking from the outside at K-pop, people see it as creating a vast number of devoted customers.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: I understand.

▶Park Jin-young: They ask how we do it. So they view this as an industry. Regular companies outside the cultural industry already consult us on this.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: If you have a fandom, in plain terms, even if a song JYP releases isn't that great, having a fandom allows you to keep releasing albums, and as long as that fandom stays attached, the company survives.

▶Park Jin-young: Once you have passionate customers, they become partners, going beyond consumers. In the past, Apple's iPhone had those devoted customers—though less so these days. That was what set the iPhone apart from other companies. Everyone knows how immensely beneficial this is to a company. So if we define this industrially and establish an awards ceremony based on this criterion—comparing and awarding, say, the top ten sports teams with the most devoted fandoms this year, whether Manchester's football club in the UK, the Lakers basketball team, a baseball team, or an Australian cricket team—and we start presenting awards like that...

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's brilliant.

▶Park Jin-young: Returning to singers, the winner isn't the singer; that singer's fandom is the recipient. No one has ever awarded fans before.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's true, never. This could expand across various industries.

▶Park Jin-young: It starts in our field and later expands into fashion, sports, and beyond. That way, we transform it into a fandom industry and establish it as South Korea's comparative advantage for a long time.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: A while ago regarding the Grammys, BTS boycotted the Grammys, and Stray Kids also boycotted once over the Asian Pop category. Is that in the same vein? The power of fandom—the idea that even if we boycott, it hardly affects us because we have our fandom behind us.

▶Park Jin-young: First of all, from our perspective, those newly created criteria have side effects. Even if the Grammys say that wasn't their intention, and even if we fully believe their good intentions, the reality is that adverse side effects exist. And it severely clashes with what K-pop has been striving toward. The Grammys say, "That was not our intention," and while we hear that—well, we can't truly know, but even if we accept it—there seem to be negative side effects.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.

▶Park Jin-young: But returning to your question, it's true that we can act more confidently because the fans stand firmly behind us. Because we have our fans.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Then ultimately, though the field may differ, could PHENOMENON become an awards ceremony on par with the Grammys?

▶Park Jin-young: I hope it becomes a different kind of ceremony.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Completely different?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes. I want this to be an awards ceremony about the fandom industry, not a content awards ceremony.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: It really is a completely different domain, isn't it?

▶Park Jin-young: It might look similar on the surface, but the intention is different.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. Now we know what kind of event it is. Next, since you are appearing at the parliamentary audit tomorrow, let's do a practice run. Naturally, good initiatives and new industries can face controversies. Opposition lawmakers in particular will likely question you on this at tomorrow's audit. There is a lot of talk about money. According to the government's explanation, the costs for the event itself will be covered by the private sector, and 15 billion won is allocated in next year's government budget for tourism promotion and support for SME participation. But what matters in the end is who invests, how it is spent, and who takes the profits if any are made. How is this structured?

▶Park Jin-young: Before answering that question, there is an essential issue. The hardest part of working is not having problems pointed out. If a criticism is valid, I can say "I'm sorry" and fix it; if it is a misunderstanding, I can clear it up. But the hardest part in doing this kind of work is having your sincerity questioned. When that happens, you lose momentum. What I mean is, our stated goal is the sustainable future of K-pop and K-culture. But people say, "You have a hidden agenda, don't you?"

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Like saying, "You're doing this for the patent rights"?

▶Park Jin-young: "You claim to pursue the public interest, but your real goal is private gain, isn't it?" When sincerity is doubted like that, and when that atmosphere builds, it becomes so painful. That is why I volunteered to attend tomorrow's parliamentary audit. I simply contacted the National Assembly and said, "I will attend."

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Really?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes. They asked whether I wanted to appear as a reference witness or a sworn witness. I asked what the difference was. They said reference witnesses do not take an oath, so there is no risk of being indicted for perjury. I said, "I will take the one where I can be indicted. Put me down as a sworn witness. I will take the one where lying makes me liable for perjury." When I said that, they were rather flabbergasted. Usually, people want the option without legal binding force...

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Exactly. Even if people show up, they avoid taking the oath.

▶Park Jin-young: The reason I wanted something legally binding was hoping people would believe me then. I felt people would only believe me if I faced the penalty of perjury. So while I will answer honestly regarding everything pointed out, what I most want to convey is, "He is sincere."

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That you are sincere about this work?

▶Park Jin-young: That this is sincere and that pursuing the public interest is my true goal. If I can convey just that to all the lawmakers...

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That potential profits aren't your objective?

▶Park Jin-young: That profits are not the priority. If it gets across that this isn't private gain disguised as public interest, I couldn't ask for anything more.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. One issue that sparked controversy in reports was the trademark rights. While pursuing this with the government, the initial trademark application was filed under JYP's name. Later, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young explained that once a dedicated corporation running PHENOMENON is established, it will be transferred there. Is that correct?

▶Park Jin-young: Absolutely, of course. Imagine if I kept it. The strength of this project lies in the four agencies coming together. Honestly, these four companies have almost never been on entirely good terms.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's understandable.

▶Park Jin-young: Because we are rivals. But the only one who has always been on good terms with everyone is me. I've always had good relations with SM, YG, and HYBE. That's why when I proposed doing this together, it happened. They see me as "Jinyoung hyung" or "Jinyoung is a bit naive." So nobody doubts my sincerity. But if my company were to claim the trademark rights while doing this? Who would cooperate? So that is beyond question. The reason we did it that way was cost and speed. It costs 40 million won domestically and at least 600 to 700 million won overseas. Someone had to act fast. We had already announced it. The word PHENOMENON is such a brilliant name—in my own assessment. If someone else registers it, we can't use it. We had to register it quickly. Our company already has a team dedicated to this. So we had to register it first.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Paying for it with your own money first.

▶Park Jin-young: Exactly. And once a responsible entity is established, transfer it. That is truly all it is. Could JYP possibly keep the trademark while doing this? Absolutely not.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: But another criticism is that even if it's transferred to a dedicated corporation, that entity is a joint venture among the four major agencies. Some point out: "Does it make sense that the private sector takes all the rights to a project funded with state subsidies?"

▶Park Jin-young: That is a very valid point. For each project, you have to quickly decide whether the state will do it, whether public and private sectors will do it together, or whether the private sector will do it. Should this be a government project, and what are the pros and cons? Should it be a private project, and what are the pros and cons? Then what should we do with this specific project? That is how it should be approached. With PHENOMENON, we reviewed and simulated various options: creating a joint foundation, state-led, private-led. After thorough discussions, the conclusion was that it is better for the private sector to lead it. So we decided, "Don't use government money."

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.

▶Park Jin-young: Even so, we had to guarantee public interest, so while the private sector leads it, we split the trademark 50-50. If this strays against the public interest toward private gain, the government can block the trademark from being used.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: The government?

▶Park Jin-young: Yes. That's why we made it 50-50. But if government money is used, agility and flexibility drop dramatically. This is our first time doing this, and there are so many things requiring rapid decisions. "Don't put in government funds; use private capital." Otherwise, I felt we couldn't make it a success. In exchange for private execution, two safeguards were put in place: first, splitting trademark rights 50-50 so it cannot veer into private gain; second, having a contract signed between the corporation formed by the four major K-pop agencies and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. We included three clauses to prevent losing public interest, thus establishing mechanisms to safeguard it. The 15 billion won in government funds is strictly allocated to purchasing booths for small and medium-sized enterprises and providing the funding necessary to maintain public interest.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. There is one more issue that will likely come up tomorrow. You mentioned serving without compensation, but some point out that you receive business operational expenses. People ask, "You receive 2 or 3 million won a month, so why did you say it's uncompensated?" What about that?

▶Park Jin-young: That is a very valid point. First of all, I didn't know I was receiving it.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: That could happen.

▶Park Jin-young: Though I am very sorry to say so.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: No, because that really could be the case.

▶Park Jin-young: I didn't know. Now that I found out, since I stated I'd work without pay, I could just return it and say I won't accept it. In fact, I lean toward doing just that. Because as I said, when your sincerity is questioned, it is hard to work. Rather than receiving this 2 million won, having my sincerity questioned, and potentially disrupting our momentum, it would be better to decline even this to maintain the position of working unpaid. But this is the most important thing I want to share today. It is the core reason I appeared on this show today. Looking at global trends, public-private partnerships need to increase. Organizations in the form of this Popular Culture Exchange Committee ought to expand across every sector—semiconductors, defense, all areas. So this needs to become a good model for a public-private cooperation system.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.

▶Park Jin-young: Having done the work, the current system is not set up for public-private collaboration. For example, this will also come up tomorrow: I had to go on a business trip to New York. When I tried to handle company affairs alongside government business, the staff were up in arms. They told me I had to conduct the government duties and immediately fly back.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: And then fly out again?

▶Park Jin-young: Exactly—they told me to fly out again. What? If it's done this way, nobody will do this job. Who would take on this role? So even though I knew it might cause friction, I said, "No. Even if it causes issues, I will go and handle both government duties and company business together." So despite pushback from our organizing committee staff, I did it deliberately—though "deliberately" may sound a bit strong, I did it knowing full well. Such cases need to keep happening. And if I refuse to accept the operational expenses, people might say to the next person, "Park Jin-young didn't take it, so why are you taking it?" If that happens, it could make it difficult for the next person to do their job.

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. Mr. Co-chair, we have run out of time.

▶Park Jin-young: Already?

▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes. We will conclude here. We have been speaking with JYP, Park Jin-young, Co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee. Thank you.

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