‘FANOMENON’ Trademark Deal Amended, but Dispute Continues; Opposition Walks Out of Committee Audit [2026 Parliamentary Audit]

[Financial News] The trademark-rights contract for global K-pop festival ‘FANOMENON’ was amended, but conflict over parliamentary scrutiny continued. After the method of reviewing the revised contract, which provides for joint government-private ownership, the meeting records of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange also became a point of contention.
At a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other bodies by the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 23rd, People Power Party lawmakers walked out in protest after committee chair Lee Jae-jung referred to the principle of keeping records confidential while they were questioning the failure to prepare subcommittee minutes.■ Trademark Deal Amended; Dispute Over How to Review ItAccording to People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin, the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange signed an amended trademark-rights contract with JYP Entertainment the previous night. It provides for the government and private sector to jointly own domestic and overseas trademark rights on a 50-50 basis, and for the privately held trademark rights to be mandatorily transferred to a dedicated corporation immediately after it is established.
The contract also includes provisions allowing the use of the trademarks to be restricted or liability to be imposed under relevant laws if its obligations are breached. This is a follow-up measure after allegations of monopolization and conflicts of interest were raised during an earlier parliamentary audit over JYP’s filing of trademark applications on its own.
The People Power Party objected to the contract being shown on a tablet. Lawmakers Yoon Yong-geun and committee secretary Jo Eun-hee, among others, asked to be allowed to inspect the original rather than a copy.
Committee chair Lee, of the Democratic Party of Korea, cited the disclosure of part of the contract during an earlier audit and explained that the arrangement was a compromise that took concerns about leaks into account. Bae countered that the materials had been shared inside the audit room.
■ People Power Party Walks Out Amid Dispute Over Subcommittee MinutesDuring the main questioning, the failure to prepare minutes of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange’s subcommittee meetings was raised. When lawmaker Yoon asked whether this could violate the Presidential Records Act, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young replied, “The operating rules on meeting records stipulate that minutes are to be prepared only for plenary meetings.”
Chair Lee explained that the contents of meetings and reports of a presidential advisory body could constitute presidential records, and that they therefore needed to be kept confidential even before being formally designated as such.
The People Power Party then protested that chair Lee had turned a question about why minutes had not been prepared into an issue of whether they should be disclosed. Committee secretary Jo also objected, saying, “We cannot tolerate the chair’s unilateral handling of proceedings.” After the People Power Party lawmakers walked out, chair Lee urged them to return, saying, “Please come back to your seats quickly.”
[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter