"Is the Monthly KRW 2 Million an Allowance or a Salary?... Park Jin Young’s 'Unpaid Service and Trademark Rights' Salary Controversy"

Singer and CEO/Chief Producer of JYP Entertainment, Park Jin Young, who serves as the co-chairman of the Presidential Committee for Cultural Exchange, is set to appear as a witness at the upcoming National Assembly's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee audit on the 7th. Attention is focused on Park’s actual annual remuneration, as Assemblywoman Bae Hyun Jin of the People Power Party has rebutted Park’s claim of “working without compensation.”

Park Jin Young, CEO and Chief Producer of JYP Entertainment and co-chairman of the Committee for Cultural Exchange, is announcing the '2027 Phenomenon Promotion Plan.' Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the National Assembly and related industries on October 2, Assemblywoman Bae Hyun Jin, a member of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee, recently posted on her social networking service (SNS) that “Chairman Park is not offering ‘unpaid service’ but is in fact receiving monthly operating expenses, overseas travel expenses, and support for assistant staff.” Bae also pointed out that Park had mentioned on a terrestrial variety show in August that as the post is part-time, he receives no annual salary. She highlighted a discrepancy with actual government budget expenditures.

According to budget execution data submitted by the Committee for Cultural Exchange to Assemblywoman Bae’s office, Park has received about KRW 2 million per month in job performance expenses since his appointment in November last year, with his cumulative total exceeding KRW 20 million. In addition, Park has used an official business credit card, received government support for four overseas business trips, and had costs for assistant staff covered by public funds.

Assemblywoman Bae stated, “Monthly job performance expenses are similar to official duty payments, which are in practice a form of salary,” adding, “The head of a government-funded institution should not provide the public with information that contradicts the facts.” She additionally criticized, “Did you mistakenly think this was ‘voluntary unpaid work’ just because it is less than the tens of millions paid for celebrity appearance fees?” While job performance expenses are typically distinguished from wages as compensation for work, receiving a fixed amount every month is regarded as earned income under tax law.

Park Jin Young is recognized in the music industry as a leading asset holder and high-income earner. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s DART system, Park received a total remuneration of KRW 3,162,890,000 in 2024, including KRW 662,890,000 in salary and KRW 2.5 billion in bonuses, making him the “salary king” among registered executives at the nation’s top four entertainment agencies. Last year, he earned KRW 2,657,620,000 (KRW 830,340,000 in salary and KRW 1,827,280,000 in bonuses), and for the first half of this year alone, he has already been paid a high amount totaling KRW 1,719,890,000. Assemblywoman Bae’s side argues that it is problematic for the CEO of a major agency receiving billions in compensation to manage his public image with an “unpaid” title while in fact receiving government funding.

Another key issue expected to be raised at the audit involves allegations that JYP Entertainment attempted to privatize the trademark rights of the global K-pop festival “FANOMENON,” a major event backed by approximately KRW 15 billion in government funding for next year. While the domestic trademark rights for this project are owned equally by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and JYP (each holding a 50% share), it was revealed that JYP independently filed for and secured the overseas trademark rights exclusively.

In response, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Choi Hwee Young and the Committee for Cultural Exchange explained, “JYP only proceeded first to quickly secure initial brand rights, and plans are in place to transfer full ownership to a dedicated corporation to be established in the future.” However, Assemblywoman Bae maintained that “this remains questionable” and announced that a thorough investigation would follow.

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