J.Y. Park Explains Why He Hasn't Returned $1,400-a-Month Allowance

JYP Entertainment founder and singer J.Y. Park, who serves as co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, said he did not know he had been receiving about $1,400 (2 million won) a month in position-related expenses.

Park appeared on the SBS radio program "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show" on Oct. 6 and discussed the challenges of working with a government body, as well as the controversies surrounding his role.

"This is the first time I've really experienced what it means to work with the government," he said. "Because taxpayer money is involved, the procedures are strict and complicated."

According to materials submitted by the committee to People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Park has received about $1,400 a month in position-related expenses since November 2025. The total amount paid to him reportedly exceeds $14,000 (20 million won).

He has also been provided with an official expense card, overseas travel allowances and staff support separately from the monthly expenses.

Park previously said he was serving on the committee without pay. Addressing the difference between that claim and the newly disclosed payments, he said he had been unaware that he was receiving the money.

"I would rather return it," he said. "If receiving 2 million won leads people to question my sincerity and affects my motivation to work, I think it would be better not to take it."

Park said, however, that returning the allowance could place an unfair burden on whoever succeeds him. "If I don't take it, the next person will hear, 'J.Y. Park didn't take it, so why are you?'" he said. "That could make it harder for the next person to do the job."

He added that one of the most difficult parts of the role was facing suspicion that he was using a public position to pursue private interests.

"If someone points out a problem, I can correct what I did wrong and clear up misunderstandings," Park said. "But when my sincerity is questioned, I lose motivation."

Park is scheduled to appear as a witness at the National Assembly's annual audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Oct. 7. He said he contacted the Assembly himself to express his willingness to attend.

"They asked me whether I wanted to appear without taking an oath or as a sworn witness, and I chose to appear as a witness, which means I could face perjury charges," he said. "I thought people would be more likely to believe me if my testimony carried legal responsibility."

He added that he wanted to make clear to lawmakers that his goal was to serve the public interest and that he intended to answer every question honestly.

Park also addressed criticism over overseas trademark applications for "FANOMENON," a K-culture festival project expected to generate about $700 million (1 trillion won) in economic impact. The domestic trademark rights are jointly held by the government and the private sector, while some overseas applications were filed solely under JYP Entertainment's name.

"This project brings together four companies: JYP, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and HYBE," Park said. "If JYP were trying to take ownership of the trademark, why would the other companies cooperate?"

He explained that JYP Entertainment filed the applications because it already had an in-house team handling trademark matters and needed to prevent third parties from registering the name after it was announced publicly.

"Once a dedicated entity is established, we will transfer the trademark," he said, stressing that JYP Entertainment did not intend to retain the rights permanently. He added that the 50-50 division of the domestic trademark rights between the government and the private sector was designed to prevent the project from being used for private interests.

Park also said the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange should become a model for cooperation between the public and private sectors.

"Looking at global trends, there need to be more cases in which the public and private sectors work together," he said. "But after actually trying to do the work, I realized that the system needed to support that kind of cooperation is not yet in place."

He cited an overseas trip as an example. When he tried to handle government work and JYP Entertainment business during the same trip, he said he was told to separate the two schedules.

"They told me to complete the government work, return to Korea and then fly out again for the company work," he said. "If that is how the system operates, who would take on this kind of role?"

Park said more practical rules were needed to allow private-sector experts to participate in public work.