Park Jin-young, co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange (left), and People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin. [Yonhap]
Park Jin-young, co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange (left), and People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin has criticized Park Jin-young, the JYP Entertainment producer who serves as co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, saying Park has been receiving monthly expense payments despite claiming to work without pay.

Bae said Tuesday on SNS that she had confirmed through government budget disbursement records that Park "has been receiving monthly expenses, overseas travel allowances and staff support — not serving as an unpaid volunteer."

According to budget and expenditure records submitted to Bae's office by the committee, Park has received about 2 million won ($1,470) per month in position-related expenses since November last year, with total payments exceeding 20 million won to date.

He has also received a corporate expense card, travel allowances for four overseas trips and related costs for accompanying staff, Bae's office said.

Park, however, appeared on MBC's "Jeonjijeokin Chamgyeon Sijeom" in August and said he had chosen to serve in a non-standing capacity. "A full-time position comes with a salary and various benefits, but I said I would do it part-time," he said. "I don't receive an annual salary."

Bae said she was not sure whether there was confusion between the minister-level treatment that comes with the committee chair position and the image management concerns of a celebrity, but added that "the head of an institution that uses public funds must not tell the public things that are not true." She said monthly position-related expenses are, in effect, a salary for public duties.

She also asked, "Did he consider it 'unpaid volunteer work' because it was less than what celebrities charge for events?"

Meanwhile, Bae has been pressing for Park to appear before the National Assembly's national audit, raising questions about his claimed unpaid role and allegations that JYP Entertainment filed for overseas trademark rights to a government-funded concert project on its own.

On Thursday, Bae alleged that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism had exclusively granted JYP the overseas trademark for a large-scale concert project called "Phenomenon," which the ministry planned to fund with 15 billion won.

The committee said in response that JYP Entertainment was proceeding with the trademark application first in order to quickly secure brand rights in overseas markets, and that the trademark would be transferred to a dedicated entity.

Bae remained unconvinced, saying the situation was suspicious and that it was necessary to verify "whether public funds are being used for overseas trips that serve private business interests."

The National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee adopted Park as a witness for the national audit on Tuesday.

Committee Chair Lee Jae-jeong said Park had conveyed his intention to "appear directly as a witness, not a reference person, and explain fully to the public," and announced that Park is scheduled to testify before the committee's national audit on Oct. 7.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com