JYP's Park Jin-young at National Audit: Phenomenon is 'four companies' sacrifice,' not political favor

Park Jin-young takes the stand

Park Jin-young, co-chair of the Committee for Public Culture Exchange, testified before the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on October 7, 2026. The focus: Phenomenon, a large-scale K-pop event set for December 2027, and whether its development involved political favoritism or improper trademark handling.

Park denied both allegations outright. "I am absolutely not the type of person doing this for the President or the Democratic Party," he said. "I have never even thought of such a thing." He went further: even pressure from the highest office wouldn't sway his judgment if he believed a project wasn't in the country's interest.

What Phenomenon actually is

The event combines K-pop concerts, a fandom awards ceremony, and K-culture company exhibition and experience programs. Its name fuses the Korean word for "fan" (팬) with "phenomenon" to mean "the phenomenon created by fans." Hive, SM, YG, and JYP Entertainment formed a dedicated event corporation. Each label contributed equal capital and holds equal voting rights.

Park positioned the whole thing as a financial sacrifice. "The representative singers of the four companies could earn two to three times the revenue if they performed separately instead of doing this event," he said. He personally asked YG, SM, and Hive to absorb those losses — hundreds of billions of won over several years. "This is a project that starts with the sacrifice of the four companies over several years."

Trademark and K-pop's global ceiling

On the trademark controversy, Park acknowledged the process was unorthodox. "It was not a normal method," he said. The unusual steps came from fear that someone else would claim the trademark first. The outcome: the trademark will not remain with JYP Entertainment.

Behind it all sits a blunt diagnosis. "I think K-pop has reached its limits globally." That's why four competing labels agreed to pool resources at all. Park pointed to Wonder Girls' U.S. entry and their Billboard Hot 100 appearance — K-pop's first — as a baseline for what the industry has already achieved and what it now needs to surpass.