Park Jin-young says he didn't realize he was paid for 'unpaid' committee role

Singer Park Jin-young said Tuesday that he had not known he was being paid about 2 million won ($1,500) a month as co-chair of a presidential culture committee, a post he had publicly described as unpaid.

Park, who co-chairs the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, is set to testify Wednesday at the National Assembly's annual audit of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, after a lawmaker disclosed the payments last month.

“It is really a sorry thing to say,” Park said on an SBS Radio show on Tuesday. “I did not know [that I was getting paid], so once I found out, I could simply say, 'I said I would take the role unpaid, so I will not take it,' and give it back. Honestly, that is what I would rather do.”

“When your sincerity is doubted, it is hard to work,” he said. “Rather than take 2 million won, have my sincerity questioned and possibly lose momentum, it would be better not to take even this. I said it was unpaid anyway, so I should stick to that.”

However, Park went on to make the case for the committee itself.

“Looking at global trends, I think there need to be more and more cases of the public and private sectors working together,” Park said. “Bodies like the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange should be set up in every field, from semiconductors to defense. So this needs to become a good example of a public-private cooperation system.”

“Having done the work, I have found that there is no system in place yet for the public and private sectors to work together,” he said.

“I had to go on a business trip to New York,” Park said. “When I tried to handle company work while doing government work, there was an uproar from the people under me. They told me to do the government work, come back to Korea and then go out again. If it works like this, nobody will do this job. Who would take it on?”

“So I knew it would become an issue, but I said, 'No. Even if it becomes a problem, I will do the government work and the company work together,'” he said. “So even though there was pushback from the organization under me, I did it knowingly. This kind of thing needs to keep happening.”

“If I do not take the business expenses, the next person will hear, 'Park Jin-young did not take them, so why are you?'” Park said. “That would make it hard for whoever comes next.”

“If you work full-time, you get paid, and you get a lot, but I cannot do that,” Park had said of the post on an August episode of MBC's “Omniscient Interfering View” (2018–). “I said I would do it if it were part-time.” Asked whether he received an annual salary, he replied, “I do not get a salary.”

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the opposition People Power Party (PPP), who sits on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, challenged that account in a Facebook post on Sept. 29.

“I confirmed through the government's budget payment records that [co-chair] Park is receiving monthly expenses, overseas travel expenses and even support staff, not doing 'unpaid volunteer work,'” PPP's Bae wrote.

Park has received about 2 million won a month in a duty allowance since November last year, coming to more than 20 million won so far, according to budget data the presidential committee submitted to Bae. He also used a corporate card for business expenses, and the four overseas trips he has made since taking office came with travel funds and accompanying staff.

“I am not sure whether there is some confusion between the chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, a post that comes with minister-level treatment, and being an entertainer, for whom managing one's image is everything,” Bae wrote. “But the head of an agency that spends the state budget must not tell the public things that are not true.”

“The monthly duty allowance is a public duty expense, in other words a de facto salary,” Bae wrote in another post. “It is money there would be no reason to pay if not for the chair post. Was it considered 'unpaid volunteer work' because it is small next to an entertainer's appearance fees?”

The parliamentary committee adopted Park as a witness for the audit on Sept. 29. Its chair, Rep. Lee Jae-jung of the ruling Democratic Party, said Park had told the committee he would “appear in person as a witness, not as an unsworn witness, and explain fully to the public.”

“I have never appeared at an audit, but I have watched a lot of them, so I know the atmosphere well,” Park said Tuesday. “Even so, if I convey my sincerity honestly and truthfully, I think it could be a very meaningful occasion.”

“The hardest thing about doing this kind of work is having your sincerity doubted,” he said. “When that happens, you lose momentum. The goal is sustainable K-pop and K-culture, but it becomes really hard when people start doubting your sincerity: 'There is a hidden motive, right?' or 'You put forward the public interest as your goal, but you are really after private gain, right?' That is why I said I would appear at tomorrow's audit.”

“They asked me, 'Will you come as an unsworn witness or as a witness?' I asked, 'What is the difference?' and they said an unsworn witness does not take an oath, so there is no chance of being charged with perjury,” Park said. “I said I would go as a witness, where I could be charged. When I said I wanted the option where I would be caught for perjury if I lied, they seemed a little taken aback. The reason I want it to be legally binding is that maybe then people will believe me.”

“I will answer honestly on everything I am criticized for, but what I want most is to get my sincerity across,” Park said. “If all the lawmakers come to see that serving the public interest is my real purpose, I could not ask for more.”

BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]