National Assembly Issues ‘Caution’ Over Jinyoung Park’s US Trip… Support Team Says ‘No Regulation Breach’

Personal Activities After Official Duties
"Chairman Covered All Expenses for Personal Schedule"

Jinyoung Park, Co-Chairman of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The National Assembly issued a “caution” to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism after Jinyoung Park, Co-chairman of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, combined personal activities with his official business trip to the United States. The Popular Culture Exchange Committee Support Team stated that both travel expenses and schedule adjustments were handled in accordance with relevant regulations.

According to the cultural community on September 3, the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee pointed out that when a civilian member takes an official overseas business trip, official duties and personal or company-related activities must be clearly distinguished.

Park visited New York and Los Angeles from November 13 to 23 last year for an 11-day trip spanning 8 nights. Of these, the period for which official travel expenses were provided was from November 13 to 18, a total of 6 days and 5 nights. The official itinerary included meetings related to “Phenomenon,” a major festival focusing on K-pop. After completing his official schedule, Park spent additional time in the U.S. for personal activities before returning to Korea.

On September 2, the Support Team explained, “All matters concerning travel expense execution and schedule adjustment for the trip were lawfully processed according to relevant laws and regulations,” adding, “For the latter part, which was personal time, the chairman covered all expenses himself, including the return flight.”

The Support Team further clarified that since Park is not a full-time employee, changes to personal plans or delaying his return after the conclusion of his official trip do not require separate prior approval.

Regarding the National Assembly’s cautionary notice, the Support Team stated, “We understand it as a call to manage similar work more strictly and transparently going forward, beyond the minimum legal requirements, given the high public interest and significant economic impact of the committee’s activities.” The Support Team also pledged to strengthen management of all administrative procedures and budget execution, including official business trips.

The Popular Culture Exchange Committee is a presidential committee established in September of last year. Jinyoung Park and Minister Choi Huiyoung of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism serve as co-chairmen. The committee is responsible for public-private cooperation to promote international exchanges in popular culture, such as music.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.