[비즈한국] Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding JYP Entertainment (JYP) holding the trademark rights for 'Phenomenon', it has been confirmed that the company has also independently filed for the trademark of 'Fandemonium', the grand prize award of the Phenomenon fandom awards. Phenomenon is a festival promoted at the government level, leading to criticism that JYP, a private company, holding the trademark rights constitutes preferential treatment. Moreover, Park Jin-young, co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee who is leading the Phenomenon event, is the largest shareholder of JYP, suggesting a direct conflict of interest.
The Popular Culture Exchange Committee is scheduled to hold 'Phenomenon', a global K-culture festival, in December 2027. However, according to the patent information service Kipris, the trademark for Phenomenon was confirmed to have been jointly filed by the government and JYP. Even in this case, JYP initially filed for it alone before transferring 50% of the trademark stake to the government. Furthermore, it is reported that JYP is currently in the process of independently filing for international trademark rights.
As a result of Bizhankook's investigation, it has been confirmed that JYP also independently filed for the 'Fandemonium' trademark last October. Fandemonium is the name of the grand prize for the Phenomenon Awards. The unique feature of Fandemonium is that the award is given to fans rather than singers, with singers accepting the award on behalf of the fans. Unlike Phenomenon, which was converted to a joint filing between JYP and the government, Fandemonium is still listed with JYP as the sole applicant.
Criticism is mounting over a private company, JYP, securing trademark rights for a festival promoted at the government level. Concerns have also been raised that JYP received preferential treatment because Park Jin-young, the co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, serves as both the largest shareholder and the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of JYP.
On the 24th, Representative Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party claimed on social media, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) gave the sole international trademark rights for a large-scale performance project, which they plan to spend 15 billion won on next year, to JYP—the company owned by Park Jin-young, the co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee who proposed this project."
As the controversy escalated, the Popular Culture Exchange Committee explained in a statement, "JYP is proceeding with the international trademark filings for Phenomenon first to ensure rapid acquisition of rights in overseas markets," adding, "We plan to negotiate and determine the specific method of dividing rights after the international filing process is complete." The committee continued, "To establish the original intent of a public-private partnership structure, we transferred 50% of the trademark stake to the MCST and converted it into a joint filing form," and explained, "The remaining stake held by JYP is also scheduled to be fully transferred to the dedicated legal entity that will be established for the execution of the event."
Despite the committee's explanation, the controversy shows no signs of abating. On the 25th, Representative Bae Hyun-jin pointed out, "When I raised the issue of JYP, the company of co-chair Park Jin-young, filing for the trademark exclusively, they stated they 'plan to transfer it to an event corporation.' It remains questionable why they did it that way in the first place, and whether they even reviewed when or if that is the right approach." On the 26th, Rep. Bae further added, "The explanations from co-chair Park Jin-young’s side, such as regarding the joint transfer, are becoming lengthy. As a cabinet-level national committee chair, I hope he will confidently appear at the parliamentary audit to provide testimony."