National Power: “The contract must be made public”·與 “Sophistry”… Battle for ‘Paenomenon’ at the Committee on Culture and Sports

“Fraud with fake images” in Seoul’s Seun District 4 simulation… Kukpower "latest data"

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Gyu-jin = On the 23rd, the ruling and opposition parties again fought over whether to disclose the trademark contract for the performance project 'Paenomenon' signed between the Popular Culture Exchange Committee and JYP Entertainment during the comprehensive audit of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

The People Power Party initially pressed for the release of the original document, noting that the contract included a provision that JYP Entertainment would not be in violation of the contract if it did not transfer the trademark rights to the government.

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin criticized the fact that the distribution of profits between the private sector and the government for trademark rights was changed to 5:5 after the National Assembly audit pointed out, saying, "There remain many traces that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has handled its affairs unbecoming of a ministry representing the people."

Rep. Yoon Yong-geun of the same party pointed out, “It appears to be common sense that most of Panomenon’s profits are generated overseas rather than domestically,” and added, “Is there a legal basis for why the Panomenon trademark, which is an intellectual property planned by the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, should be given to the private sector?”

On the other hand, Min-hee Choi, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized, "If it is disclosed at the National Assembly Audit, it is being broadcast on the Internet or whatever, and it is public. I don't want to hear any more sophistry," and added, "If they are talking about something that is not very important, will the four major entertainment companies want to do (panomenon)?"

Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Seon-mi also refuted the protests by People Power Party lawmakers, saying, "I've been auditing government affairs for a long time, but it's unfortunate that we're arguing over an issue that isn't that important."

Lee Jae-jeong, chairman of the cultural affairs committee of the same party, said, "Meetings and reports held by the president's advisory body may be presidential records," and "the principle is that they are kept confidential even before they are designated as records," and began organizing them.

People Power Party lawmakers protested that Chairman Lee was proceeding unilaterally, and at one point even walked out of the National Assembly inspection.

Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties also argued over a simulation image created using Naver Road View photos in November last year to defend the District 4 development plan established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government during the National Assembly inspection on this day.

Representative Noh Jong-myeon of the Democratic Party claimed, "Seoul City created a fake simulation image by manipulating photos (taken with an ultra-wide-angle camera) and attempted to distort, conceal, and minimize the problem of damage to the world cultural heritage landscape. Two months later, in January of this year, an ad balloon was launched claiming that the buildings in Sewoon District 4 were high. It is a fraud on the people and a show of deception."

People Power Party lawmaker Jo Eun-hee said of the Road View, "The 2018 Jongmyo Road View is the most recent data available on Naver," and refuted, "It is said that when People Power Party members went on an on-site visit to Jongmyo, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's urban space planning officer explained to reporters that Road View was used."