JYP founder to face National Assembly scrutiny over 'Korean Coachella' trademark

Park Jin-young, founder and chief producer of JYP Entertainment, is expected to testify at a National Assembly audit over his company’s trademark move for Fanomenon in Seoul. Rep. Bae Hyun-jin said she plans to summon him to explain the application and later transfer of rights. The event is a government-backed K-pop festival scheduled for 11 days in Seoul, Goyang and other locations in December next year.

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin said Park Jin-young would be called to explain why JYP applied for the Fanomenon trademark and how the rights would be transferred.

Fanomenon is jointly organized by the presidential committee and major entertainment agencies.

The event is scheduled to run for 11 days in Seoul, Goyang and other locations in December next year.

Organizers expect more than 500,000 visitors and an economic impact of nearly 1 trillion won.

Under the arrangement, domestic trademark rights would be jointly held by JYP and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, while JYP would initially hold the overseas rights exclusively.

Published Sep 26, 2026 12:17 pm KST

Updated Sep 26, 2026 12:27 pm KST

President Lee Jae Myung and Park Jin-young, founder and chief producer of JYP Entertainment and co-chair of the presidential committee on popular culture exchange, hold K-pop merchandise ahead of the committee's launch ceremony at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, October 2025. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

Park Jin-young, founder and chief producer of JYP Entertainment, is expected to be called to testify at a National Assembly audit over his company's move to secure trademark rights to Fanomenon , a government-backed large-scale K-pop event.

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the main opposition People Power Party said she plans to summon Park, who also serves as co-chair of the presidential committee on popular culture exchange, to explain why his company applied for the trademark rights and how they would ultimately be transferred.

"The committee said the rights would later be transferred to the entity responsible for organizing the event," Bae wrote in a social media post Tuesday.

"But it remains unclear why it was handled that way in the first place, when the rights will be transferred and whether the arrangement was properly reviewed," Bae said. "It has become unavoidable for us to call Park to testify at the National Assembly audit."

Fanomenon, billed as Korea's answer to Coachella, is a global K-pop event being jointly organized by the presidential committee and major entertainment agencies.

Scheduled to run for 11 days in Seoul, Goyang and other locations in December next year, the event is expected to draw more than 500,000 visitors and generate an economic impact of nearly 1 trillion won ($735.8 million).

Controversies over the trademark emerged after TV Chosun reported that JYP Entertainment had applied to register the Fanomenon name. Under the arrangement, the domestic trademark rights would be jointly held by JYP and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, while JYP would initially hold the overseas rights exclusively.

The arrangement has raised questions over why a private entertainment company would hold exclusive overseas trademark rights to a publicly backed project receiving government funding and policy support, even on a temporary basis.

The committee said JYP Entertainment is handling the overseas trademark application process to "secure the rights as quickly as possible in foreign markets." It added that the rights "will later be transferred to a separate entity responsible for carrying out the event."

JYP娱乐公司​​创始人兼首席制作人朴振英预计将出席国会听证会，就该公司在首尔为Fanomenon音乐节申请商标一事作证。国会议员裴贤珍表示，她计划传唤朴振英，要求其解释商标申请及后续的商标转让事宜。Fanomenon音乐节是由政府支持的K-pop音乐节，将于明年12月在首尔、高阳等地举办，为期11天。

议员裴贤真表示，将传唤朴振英解释JYP为何申请Fanomenon商标以及如何转让该商标权。

Fanomenon 由总统委员会和各大娱乐公司联合举办。

该活动计划于明年12月在首尔、高阳等地举行，为期11天。

组织者预计将吸引超过 50 万名游客，并带来近 1 万亿韩元的经济效益。

根据该安排，国内商标权将由 JYP 和文化体育观光部共同拥有，而海外商标权最初将由 JYP 独家拥有。

发布于2026年9月26日下午12:17（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月26日下午12:27（韩国标准时间）

2025年10月，在京畿道高阳市KINTEX展览中心，韩国总统李在明与JYP娱乐公司​​创始人兼首席制作人、总统流行文化交流委员会联合主席朴振英在委员会成立仪式前手持K-pop周边商品合影。（韩国时报 王泰锡 摄）

JYP娱乐公司​​的创始人兼首席制作人朴振英预计将被传唤到国会接受审计，就其公司获取政府支持的大型K-pop活动Fanomenon商标权一事作证。

主要反对党国民力量党议员裴贤真表示，她计划传唤朴槿惠（同时也是总统流行文化交流委员会的联合主席），解释其公司为何申请商标权以及最终将如何转让这些商标权。

裴在周二的社交媒体帖子中写道：“委员会表示，这些权利之后将移交给负责组织该活动的实体。”

“但目前仍不清楚当初为何要那样处理，版权何时转移，以及该安排是否经过适当审查，”裴说。“我们不得不传唤朴槿惠到国会审计作证。”

Fanomenon 被誉为韩国版的 Coachella 音乐节，是由总统委员会和各大娱乐公司联合举办的全球 K-pop 盛会。

该活动计划于明年 12 月在首尔、高阳等地举办 11 天，预计将吸引超过 50 万名游客，并产生近 1 万亿韩元（7.358 亿美元）的经济效益。

在TV朝鲜报道JYP娱乐公司​​申请注册Fanomenon商标后，该商标争议开始出现。根据协议，国内商标权将由JYP娱乐公司​​和韩国文化体育观光部共同拥有，而海外商标权最初将由JYP娱乐公司​​独家拥有。

这种安排引发了人们的质疑：为什么一家私营娱乐公司能够拥有一个由政府资助和政策支持的公共项目的海外独家商标权，即使是暂时的？

委员会表示，JYP娱乐公司​​正在处理海外商标申请事宜，以“尽快在海外市场获得相关权利”。委员会还补充说，这些权利“之后将移交给负责举办该活动的独立实体”。