Lee Jae-myung Defends Park Jin-young Before Assembly Hearing

President Lee Jae-myung publicly apologized to K-pop producer Park Jin-young on October 6, saying Korea failed to give him “proper treatment” before his parliamentary testimony. Park, co-chair of the Public-Private Council for Popular Culture Exchange, volunteers his time without pay. Lee Jae-myung posted the message on social media just a day before Park’s scheduled appearance at a National Assembly hearing.

Why would a sitting president personally defend a music producer facing a legislative inquiry? That question sits at the heart of this story.

Lee Jae-myung’s comments reveal something deeper about how Korea views its cultural exports right now. K-pop has become a national asset, not just entertainment. And when that asset gets tangled in bureaucratic scrutiny, the president apparently feels compelled to speak up.

Lee Jae-myung’s Message on Park Jin-young

Lee Jae-myung wrote that Park Jin-young works “without compensation, spending his own time and money” to promote Korean culture abroad. He called it “regrettable and sorry” that the country hasn’t offered him proper respect in return. This is a notable moment — a president directly addressing a private citizen’s treatment ahead of a government hearing.

Lee Jae-myung went further, thanking Park on behalf of the Korean people. He asked Park to “set aside any hurt feelings” and keep working to spread K-pop and Korean culture worldwide. He also urged ordinary citizens to offer their own encouragement.

This kind of direct presidential outreach to a cultural figure is unusual. It signals how seriously the Lee Jae-myung administration treats the K-pop industry’s role in national branding. Think of it this way: imagine a Western head of government personally vouching for a music executive before a congressional hearing — that’s roughly the scale of this gesture in Korean political culture.

Why Park Jin-young Faces the National Assembly

Park Jin-young, founder of JYP Entertainment, is set to appear Tuesday as a witness before the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s annual audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Ruling and opposition parties hadn’t even agreed on calling him as a witness. Yet Park reportedly volunteered to testify anyway.

Why volunteer for a hearing nobody forced him to attend? Park explained his reasoning on SBS Radio’s Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show this week. He said appearing as a formal witness — rather than a mere reference figure — carries legal risk of perjury charges, and that risk is exactly what would prove his motives are genuine public service.

That’s a fairly bold calculation. Most public figures try to minimize legal exposure, not embrace it as proof of sincerity.

The Controversies Behind the Testimony

Two specific issues triggered scrutiny of Park Jin-young’s role. The first involves trademark registration for “Phenomenon,” a global K-pop festival planned for December 2027. Critics noted that JYP Entertainment, Park’s own agency, filed for overseas trademark rights to the festival name on its own.

Park addressed this directly, explaining that trademarks need fast registration, and his company simply had the dedicated team to handle the paperwork. He said the rights would transfer once a proper administrative body takes over the task. You can read more coverage of the hearing details via SBS News.

The second controversy concerns business expense payments. Despite saying he would serve without pay, reports surfaced that Park received several million won monthly in operating expenses. He said he didn’t realize he was receiving the funds and would rather return them.

But Park added a telling detail: if he refuses the money outright, future co-chairs might face pressure to also refuse it, making the volunteer position harder to fill. It’s a small example of how one person’s gesture can unintentionally raise the bar for everyone who follows. Lee Jae-myung’s intervention, in this light, looks like an attempt to prevent that exact dynamic from discouraging future volunteers.

What Lee Jae-myung’s Support Means for Cultural Diplomacy

Lee Jae-myung’s public defense of Park Jin-young raises a bigger question about how Korea treats its cultural ambassadors. K-pop generates billions in export revenue and soft power influence worldwide. Yet the people driving that success sometimes face bureaucratic suspicion rather than institutional support.

There’s a real tension here worth naming honestly. Volunteer advisory roles without clear compensation rules often create confusion, and that confusion can look like impropriety even when intentions are good. The trademark filing and expense questions aren’t fabricated controversies — they reflect a genuine gap in how Korea structures public-private cultural partnerships.

At the same time, Lee Jae-myung’s response points toward a constructive path. Rather than letting ambiguity fester, his public acknowledgment pushes institutions to build clearer frameworks for people like Park Jin-young. Fixing the structure — not just praising the individual — is what would actually prevent this kind of controversy next time.

Korea’s K-pop success didn’t happen by accident. It took decades of investment, risk-taking, and individuals like Park Jin-young who kept pushing Korean culture onto global stages. Lee Jae-myung’s comments this week suggest the government understands that goodwill alone won’t sustain that momentum forever.

Going forward, expect more scrutiny of how cultural advisory positions are structured and compensated. Park Jin-young’s testimony on Wednesday could become a turning point for clarifying these rules. What do you think — should high-profile cultural figures like Park Jin-young receive formal compensation, or does volunteer status actually protect their credibility?

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