J.Y. Park to Step Down as Director — Glimpse of “New National Project” Aimed at Meeting China’s Xi Jinping

I want to do on a national level what I can’t do on a company level.

The ambition of a man who has been whispered about in the industry for some time is about to become a reality.

From a Corporate Charismatic to a National Strategist

On March 10, the decision of the head of a giant entertainment company shocked not only the K-pop world but also the political and business world of South Korea.

J.Y. Park, 54, the charismatic founder of JYP Entertainment and the man behind TWICE, Stray Kids, and NiziU, announced that he would step down as a director of the company after the general shareholders meeting on March 26. After stepping down, Park will continue to oversee creative activities such as music production and concept creation as CCO (Chief Creative Officer) and representative producer.

On the other hand, he will concentrate on “new external operations in the global domain” for artist development and the K-pop industry. An agency official with knowledge of the Korean entertainment industry explains the current trends in the industry.

The founders of the Korean entertainment industry have followed similar paths as their companies have expanded in size. Lee Soo-man, 73, of SM Entertainment, retired as president to concentrate on his producing business, and Bang Si-hyuk, 53, of HYBE, moved to the position of chairman and left the management of his company to professionals. Both of these choices were made in order to separate the management of a huge organization from its creativity. However, Mr. Park is completely different from the other founders in that he is headed for “external operations in the global domain,” i.e., the “national stage” beyond the boundaries of a private company.

Last September, Mr. Park was appointed co-chairman of the “Committee for the Exchange of Popular Culture,” which reports directly to President Lee Jae-myung. This is not a mere honorary position, but a ministerial-level position on a par with that of the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and a central post in drawing up strategies to export K-pop to the world by mobilizing the national budget.

He has already demonstrated a notable presence at the diplomatic level, including direct dialogue with Chinese President Xi Jinping (72) at the APEC summit dinner in November of last year, and he is determined to leverage K-pop as a major industry as a soft power to enhance Korea’s presence in the international community. This represents a clear shift from a charismatic figure in the corporate world to a national strategist,” said an agency official.

What is behind this move beyond the boundaries of a corporation to lead a national-level project? An international journalist familiar with South Korea’s cultural policy offers the following insight.

“Behind this is the geopolitical and economic situation that South Korea is facing. Since the Asian currency crisis of the late 1990s, Korea has been promoting the export of its content industry on a national level. With the limited size of the domestic market, the only national policy was to find a way to find a way overseas, and K-pop has served as a precursor to this, but it has now grown into a huge industry that dominates the global market.

In order to chart further growth, there is a limit to what the private sector can do on its own. We need to expand into emerging markets such as the Middle East and Africa, or engage in cultural diplomacy in cooperation with international organizations such as UNESCO. Promotions that utilize such diplomatic channels and the investment of huge national budgets are areas that the company could never venture into on its own.

The resolve to undertake “K-POP Diplomacy”.

While it is a key part of the national strategy, will it have any impact on “JYP Entertainment” and its artists? While some Japanese fans are concerned that the activities of “NiziU” and other artists will stagnate, music writer Takuo Matsumoto, who has covered the K-pop scene for a long time, offers this opinion: “There is no particular impact on our artists.

I can assure you that there will be no particular impact on the artists. He has been practicing a division of labor by gathering talented staff from a very early stage. In many cases, he is involved in the direction and songs of an artist before or immediately after their debut, but once they get going, he usually leaves the main production to other writers. The same pattern is probably building up in terms of management. Therefore, Mr. Park’s departure should not have a negative impact on JYP Entertainment.

He continues, “He has a passion for soul music, and he is a great fan of the music industry.

He loves soul music and has been trying to break into the United States, the home of soul music, for a quarter of a century.” That dream came true in 2008 when “TWICE” formed a partnership with a major American record label, and in the same year, the debut of “NiziU” brought success in Japan. Now, I think he has begun to think, ‘I want to utilize my skills in various genres,’ and ‘I want to hand over my skills to the next generation,'” said Matsumoto.

He also sees the significance of having the head of a company hold a key position in the government.

I think it will be a considerable plus for both the company and the government. For the past 20 to 30 years, the Korean government has been making efforts to improve the country’s culture, believing that it is weak in this area. J.Y. Park, who is now in his fifties, wanted to do something bigger as the sum total of his life, rather than just being the face of the agency–that’s the truth. (Ibid.)

Some media outlets have pointed out the risk of unfairness and collusion between the founders of certain companies and other firms when they hold key government positions. Nevertheless, there is no room for stopping steps to further raise the cultural presence of K-pop on a global scale.

How will the success story he has built up culminate in a national-scale “K-POP diplomacy”? Park’s decision will be the biggest test of the future of the Korean entertainment industry.