September 18, 2025
SEOUL – When the presidential office recently announced the appointment of J.Y. Park, chief creative officer and founder of JYP Entertainment, as co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, it raised eyebrows.
The position carries minister-level authority, and many in the industry were surprised to see Park chosen over other heavyweight producers who built Korea’s “big four” K-pop agencies.
At first glance, figures like Bang Si-hyuk of Hybe, Yang Hyun-suk of YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man might have seemed more likely candidates, given their influence and the global success of their artists. But a closer look at the industry reveals why Park was the most viable choice.
Bang, whose Hybe dominates the K-pop market, remains under legal scrutiny.
He currently faces allegations of fraudulent trading and was questioned for some 14 hours by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday. Such risks made it difficult for the government to place him in an official role.
Yang, too, carries legal baggage.
Though he was acquitted at his first trial, he was later convicted of coercing a witness in a high-profile drug case involving a former trainee surnamed Han and iKON’s B.I. The Supreme Court upheld a six-month suspended sentence in July, putting him on probation. While Yang has since expressed contrition and vowed to focus on his work, his legal record makes a public appointment politically untenable.
Lee Soo-man, the pioneer behind SM Entertainment, no longer runs the company and is in his 70s. Although still active through a new venture in the US and China, his age and diminished involvement in Korea’s leading agencies counted against him.
That left Park, who stands apart for several reasons. Unlike the others, he remains actively engaged in songwriting and producing for younger K-pop acts, maintaining symbolic weight as both the founder and current creative leader of JYP Entertainment. JYP Entertainment’s roster, including Stray Kids, Twice, Itzy and Day6, continues to thrive globally. Notably, Stray Kids this year notched their seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200, a feat Culture Minister Choi Hee-young highlighted at his first press briefing on Sept. 4.
Equally important is Park’s relatively clean record.
JYP Entertainment has long emphasized ethical management, and neither Park nor his artists have been mired in major scandals or lawsuits. In an industry often shadowed by controversy, this reputation for stability likely reassured policymakers.
“Neither Bang nor Yang is in any position to take on a public post right now,” said an official at one of the major K-pop agencies. “Given the legal risks around them, the government had little choice but to look elsewhere.”
The presidential office underscored Park’s symbolic role.
“As one of Korea’s most representative singers and producers, J.Y. Park has worked tirelessly for the globalization of K-pop,” said Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, during a Sept. 9 briefing. “We expect him to contribute to making Korea a country where culture blossoms by helping our popular culture reach more people abroad, while also enriching our own through exchanges with foreign cultures.”
That said, Park’s track record abroad has not been stellar. His early efforts to break into the US market with Wonder Girls, Lim Jeong-hee and G.Soul fell short of expectations, despite years of investment. Even JYP trainees like Min, Baek Ye-rin and G.Soul were sent overseas for training with little commercial payoff.
Compared with Bang’s success in steering BTS to global superstardom or Yang’s discovery of Blackpink, Park’s legacy in international expansion looks more modest.