Impeachment of Yoon Could Trigger K-POP Winter and Endanger Nara Events

In the 2022 presidential election, President Yoon Suk-yeol defeated opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung (left) to win.

On December 14, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faced impeachment as the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion. As a result, the Constitutional Court will review the validity of the impeachment, and if upheld, the president will be removed from office.

“Most South Korean citizens don’t believe President Yoon can continue in office. While he likely hopes to buy time and have someone from his own party succeed him, it’s almost certain that the opposition will take the presidency,” said a reporter for a major national newspaper.

The leading candidate for the next presidency is Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea. However, he himself has been sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the Public Official Election Act.

In August 2012, President Lee Myung-bak landed on Takeshima.

“Lee has appealed the ruling, so the sentence is not yet finalized. If the presidential election is held early, he can still run for office. Should he become president, his administration would likely be one of the most overtly anti-Japan in history. The Yoon administration’s pro-Japan policies would be reversed entirely, and the Japanese government is already on edge,” said the same national newspaper reporter.

However, it’s not just politicians who are alarmed by the potential regime change. The entertainment industry, currently thriving amid an unprecedented Korean wave, is also deeply concerned. A music industry insider, who works as a liaison for K-POP artists, said:

“Thanks to President Yoon’s pro-Japan policies, Japan-South Korea relations have improved dramatically. Naturally, the movement of artists between the two countries has become more frequent than ever. We definitely don’t want to return to the winter era”

The winter era he refers to dates back to August 2012, when then-President Lee Myung-bak landed on Takeshima (Dokdo).

“Even thinking about it gives me chills. An anti-Korean sentiment spread rapidly across Japan, and the treatment of Korean talents worsened. A clear example is the 2011 NHK ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen,’ where TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, and KARA performed. By 2012, the number of K-POP artists dropped to zero.”

In 2011, Korean dramas aired almost daily, and the Korean wave extended beyond music. However, the boom abruptly cooled, and Korean stars disappeared from Japanese television following events like actor Sousuke Takaoka’s controversial anti-Korean drama comments.

 

“NHK, as a public broadcaster, is extremely cautious. It took six years for K-POP idols to return to the ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen,’ with TWICE appearing in 2017. The fact that three of its nine members were Japanese and one was Taiwanese helped pave the way for the ‘Korean Wave revival,'” said the same music industry insider.

Last year’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen featured five K-POP groups, and this year, four groups are scheduled to perform, reflecting the peak of the Korean Wave—eerily similar to the period before the 2012 Takeshima landing incident. This is why promoters who book Korean stars are deeply concerned.

“That’s precisely why it’s so frightening,”

One promoter said.

 

A K-POP concert was held with a public expenditure of 270 million yen.

“In 2012, while NHK and other TV stations publicly claimed that political issues are unrelated, during those six years, no matter which TV station we took a K-POP group to, they wouldn’t listen seriously. Even BTS, who later became a global sensation, came to Japan when they were still known as ‘Bangtan Boys,’ but things didn’t go well, and they eventually focused on breaking into the U.S. market. If they had succeeded in Japan like KARA or Girls’ Generation, ironically, they might not have achieved success in the U.S.,” said a promoter.

The impact wasn’t limited to groups coming from South Korea. Korean enka and kayo singers, who had migrated to Japan and were active before the boom, also faced periods of being ignored by TV stations and concert promoters.

“There’s always been a wave in Japan-South Korea relations, which entertainment professionals from both countries are aware of. That’s why Korean agencies have actively included Japanese members when forming groups. However, if the administration changes from Yoon’s to Lee Jae-myung, the gap will be too wide, and there’s a high possibility that the anti-Korean sentiment from 2012 will spread across Japan again,” said the same promoter.

Amid this, the subject of concern is the free ‘K-POP Live’ event hosted by Nara Prefecture next October.

The event, planned by Governor Yamashita, has faced significant public skepticism due to the 270 million yen of public funds being allocated.

“Well, it depends on the South Korean political transition, but a year from now, things could become very difficult, including the potential cancellation. Furthermore, opposition voices are already loud, and even more will emerge. There’s no one among the current politicians or media people with the resolve to push through this with public funds,” said a music industry insider.

The political tension between Japan and South Korea has a profound impact on the entertainment industry, as those involved have directly experienced the consequences. The caution of entertainment professionals from both countries, who’ve lived through the cooling era, continues to grow.