Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange

The Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange is a South Korean advisory body operating directly under the president, created to align government policy with the global expansion of K-culture. Reporting around its October 2025 launch positioned the committee as a public-private bridge rather than a symbolic cultural council. That matters because its membership reaches across entertainment, games, film, webtoons, beauty, food, and investment, giving it a wider brief than a music-only task force.

The leadership structure explains the weight. Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young serves as co-chair alongside JYP founder Park Jin-young, with major private-sector participation from companies including HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment. At the launch event in Goyang, President Lee Jae Myung framed the committee as part of a broader effort to turn South Korea into a top-five cultural power while maintaining a no-interference principle around creative autonomy.

For HITKULTR, the committee matters most because it already sits behind one of the biggest 2026 industry stories. The four major agencies said their Fanomenon discussions are happening through the committee's music division, which makes this body part of the policy scaffolding for a proposed large-scale festival platform rather than just background government branding. If Fanomenon advances, the committee will likely remain one of the key institutions linking state strategy to private-sector execution.