South Korean lawmaker investigates K-pop and museum favoritism allegations

South Korean lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin has raised allegations of favoritism and corruption during recent National Assembly audits, targeting both a major K-pop project and the National Museum of Korea.

Park Jin-young, co-chairman of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, faced scrutiny regarding ‘Phenomenon’, a large-scale K-pop festival planned for 2027 involving major agencies like HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG. Critics suggested the project offered undue advantages to these four major agencies. Park defended the initiative, stating that private sector leadership was necessary and that participating in the festival could actually result in short-term financial losses for agencies compared to individual world tours.

Additionally, Bae Hyun-jin has targeted the National Museum of Korea regarding the selection process for a large brunch cafe operator. Allegations suggest that evaluation methods were altered and key documents, including price proposals, were destroyed to favor a specific company. Reports indicate the company under consideration is linked to the chairman of the National Museum of Korea Supporters' Association. The museum has stated that while errors in the evaluation method were identified, they did not instruct the destruction of documents.