K-pop Festival 'FANOMENON': Joint Venture of Four Major Agencies Established in October

Ministry and Joint Venture to Each Own 50% of Trademark Rights; Park Yoonseo Named CEO

Park Jinyoung, co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, speaks at a press conference announcing the “2027 Phenomenon Promotion Plan” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News.

HYBE and the country’s other three major music agencies—SM, YG and JYP Entertainment—have established a joint venture to run FANOMENON, a global K-pop festival scheduled for December next year. The trademark rights, which sparked controversy after JYP, the agency of Park Jinyoung, co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, filed for them on its own, will be split equally between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the joint venture.

According to people in the music and legal industries on November 10, FANOMENON Co., Ltd., in which the four major agencies are participating, completed its corporate registration with the registry office of the Seoul Central District Court on October 26. Its headquarters are in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. The joint venture will be responsible for planning, producing and operating the festival, as well as managing related intellectual property (IP).

The company’s stated business purposes include not only organizing performances, award ceremonies, exhibitions and conventions, but also acquiring and managing operating rights for cultural facilities such as performance venues, selling and brokering admission tickets, and planning and distributing products such as food and beverages, fashion items and souvenirs. Its stated purposes also include collecting and processing data, investing in and consulting on the content industry, and licensing the use of intellectual property.

Park Yoonseo, who has worked at HYBE and JYP, was appointed CEO. One non-executive director from each agency was appointed: Kim Jeongjip (YG), Won Woohyun (SM), Yoon Hangil (HYBE) and Shin Hyunguk (JYP). Kim Muhyun was appointed auditor. At a National Assembly audit by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on October 7, Park, the co-chair, said, “The structure is that the four major agencies each contribute the same amount and have equal voting rights.”

On October 1, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwiyoung said, “We agreed with the four major agencies that the joint venture will not distribute its profits to shareholders, but will reinvest them in full in the next event.” The plan is to limit artists from the four agencies to no more than 30% of the performers at concerts in Chang-dong, Seoul, and Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Controversy over preferential treatment arose earlier after it became known that JYP, Park’s agency, had filed for the FANOMENON trademark on its own instead of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee doing so. At the National Assembly audit on October 7, Park acknowledged that there had been a problem with the filing process and said the trademark would not remain with JYP.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwiyeong and Park Jinyoung, co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, answer questions at a press conference announcing the 2027 Phenomenon promotion plan at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News Agency.

On October 22, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed an agreement with JYP on joint ownership of the FANOMENON-related trademarks. Under the agreement, the ministry and the joint venture will each own 50% of the trademarks filed in Korea and abroad under JYP’s name. The agreement also includes provisions to restrict use of the trademarks and seek legal accountability in the event of a breach.

The extent of the government’s involvement in the joint venture’s operations is also under discussion. At a National Assembly audit on October 23, Minister Choi said, “The four companies cannot use the FANOMENON trademark as they please,” adding that he would consider whether the ministry could be directly involved in the joint venture’s operations.

The government’s position is that the costs of holding the event will be covered by private-sector revenue. Funding will come from ticket sales, sponsorships, overseas broadcasting rights and exhibition booth sales. However, the government’s proposed 2027 budget includes about 15 billion won for related programs to attract foreign tourists and support small and medium-sized enterprises’ participation in the event.

FANOMENON is a festival combining K-pop concerts, fan-community award ceremonies, and exhibitions and experiential events by K-culture companies. It is scheduled to run from December 2 to 12, 2027, at the Seoul Arena in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul, and Exhibition Hall 2 of KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The Popular Culture Exchange Committee plans to hold FANOMENON festivals overseas as well, beginning in Los Angeles in May 2028.

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