Jinyoung, co-chair of the Pop Culture Exchange Committee, who previously maintained that he was serving without pay, clarified that he "did not know" after it was revealed that he had been receiving approximately 2 million won per month in position-based duty expenses.

He also expressed his stance that he would like to return the money if possible.

Appearing today (October 6) on the SBS radio program "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show," Co-Chair Jinyoung gave this answer when asked why he had claimed to serve without pay while receiving business operation expenses.

[Jinyoung / Co-Chair of the Pop Culture Exchange Committee: What you are saying makes complete sense. First of all, I did not know I was receiving it. (Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun: Well, that could have happened.) I am really sorry to say this, though.]

Earlier in August, Co-Chair Park appeared on the MBC variety program "Omniscient Interfering View" and stated regarding his work as committee chair that "I do not receive an annual salary."

He noted that while he could have received compensation had he chosen full-time status, he opted to serve on a part-time basis, and the broadcast at the time featured a caption stating "refused both monthly salary and vehicle."

However, Representative Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party revealed on September 29, after reviewing government budget disbursement records, that Co-Chair Park had been receiving around 2 million won each month in position-based duty expenses since November of last year, alongside a corporate card for business expenses, overseas travel expenses, and secretarial staff support.

Representative Bae argued that the position-based duty expenses, being funds provided for the execution of official duties, constitute a "de facto salary."

In response, Co-Chair Park stated that once he learned about receiving the funds, his inclination was to return them, saying, "Since I said I would serve without pay, I won't accept it."

His reasoning was that rather than having his sincerity questioned over 2 million won and disrupting the momentum of the committee's work, it would be better not to receive the money in order to maintain his original principle of serving unpaid.

However, he explained that he is wrestling with the decision regarding whether to actually return it.

[Jinyoung / Co-Chair of the Pop Culture Exchange Committee: If I don't accept the business expenses, people might tell my successor, "Jinyoung didn't take it, so why are you taking it?" I was worried that if that happened, it would make it difficult for the next person to do their job.]

Co-Chair Park is also scheduled to appear tomorrow as an institutional witness at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit.

Stating that testifying as a witness liable to perjury penalties would make people believe his sincerity regarding the committee's work, Co-Chair Park announced that he will explain before the National Assembly that his goal is to serve the public interest.

(Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Seo Byung-wook | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News)