“₩1 trillion in economic impact before a contract is even signed?” ‘Paenomenon’ comes under fire at parliamentary audit... Hwang Gyo-ik: “Just a provisional estimate”

[Financial News] Hwang Gyo-ik, president of the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, said at a National Assembly audit that he would “prove himself through his work” amid controversy over his appointment as a patronage hire. Opposition lawmakers sharply criticized the submission of a ₩1 trillion estimate for the economic impact of “Paenomenon,” a major K-pop festival being planned by the government, before a formal research contract had been signed.

A dispute broke out at the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit on the 14th over how the economic impact of “Paenomenon,” a large-scale K-pop festival the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange is planning for next year, was calculated.
According to Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute submitted materials to the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange on July 13 estimating that “Paenomenon” would have an economic impact of at least ₩1 trillion. However, the formal research contract was signed the next day, on July 14, and the actual research began on July 20.

Bae also questioned the reliability of the calculation method. She said they had arbitrarily assumed an audience of 520,000 by applying six performance days to the maximum capacities of Seoul Arena and KINTEX, then simply applied the per-person economic impact of attendees at a BTS concert—held in Goyang City last April—even though the business conditions were different.
Bae criticized the institute, saying, “A state research institute handed the government the figure of ₩1 trillion before even putting pen to paper on the contract,” and asking, “Did they come up with a figure twice Coachella’s annual economic impact of around ₩500 billion in advance for government publicity, then tailor the research to fit it?”
Hwang responded, “As the institute conducts various studies, there are cases where it quickly provides provisional estimates when they are needed for project planning.” He explained, “The figures presented are only basic data. The final report will be released on November 11, so I hope you’ll review it in detail then.”

The expertise and appointment of Hwang, who took office last April, also came under scrutiny. He has worked as a reporter for Nongmin Newspaper, a research fellow at the Local Intellectual Property Headquarters, and general director of the Seoul Craft Fair, among other roles. In 2021, during Lee Jae-myung’s tenure as Gyeonggi governor, he was nominated to head the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization but voluntarily stepped down amid controversy.
When People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seok-ki criticized him, saying, “You lack expertise because you have no record of writing academic papers in the fields of culture and tourism,” Hwang countered, “I’m not an academic researcher, but you could call me a field researcher.”
When Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Cho Kye-won asked for his response to the controversy over “patronage” and “parachute” appointments, Hwang replied, “I know some people think my appointment was a patronage appointment by parachute, and I accept that,” adding, “I’ll work hard so I can be judged by my work.”


The audit also addressed the relocation of the Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts), which has been deadlocked for 17 years.
When Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Kim Jae-won called for a swift resolution, saying, “At least 90 percent of students and parents are calling for the scattered campuses to be consolidated into one and for the school to remain in Seoul,” K-Arts President Pyeon Jang-wan said, “This is a long-standing goal of the university, so during my term I’ll lay the groundwork, at the very least, for selecting a site or establishing the basic framework.”
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter