Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Tzuyu‘s video apology will lead to JYP Entertainment potentially being investigated over “racial discrimination” and “human rights infringement” thanks to a request by the Center For Multicultural Korea (CMCK).
The Center for Multicultural Korea (CMCK) in Seoul denounced Park Jin-young, chief of JYP Entertainment, for allegedly forcing the young girl to make the apology, which it calls a “serious racial discrimination and human rights infringement.”
The center said in a statement that a “16-year-old girl waving the national flag of her own country is very natural, but Park Jin-young forced her to make an apology under pressure from Chinese netizens.”
“We will ask the National Human Rights Commission of Korea to investigate whether the apology was forced or not,” it said, adding that it will bring the case to the prosecution if the apology was found to be coerced. “This kind of incident can take place anytime in entertainment agencies which are blind to commercial interests and ignorant of multicultural and human rights,” the center said.
Ah yes, here’s the actual reason JYPE came out with that statement recently about how even though they control every aspect of their artists’ lives, they definitely let Tzuyu and her parents fly solo on an international incident. They released that, because legally, they needed public plausible deniability to avoid a potential clusterfuck.
As expected, people are decrying this call for an investigation into JYPE because people actually stan corporations in K-pop and believe JYP is a benevolent god because he’s quirky and kind on staged variety shows or whatever. You know what, though? It’s probably great that this is being done. Somebody should give these companies something else to think about before they put financial interests instead of human ones, and an investigation is the least they can do for a minor.
That said, will this reveal anything? Hell no. If Tzuyu or her parents wanted to risk her entertainment career in China and Korea to end, they would’ve just refused to apologize or withdrawn her from the group already. So even if she was forced — and I think everybody with a brain knows JYPE had at least some influence on the decision — it’s never going to come out unless JYPE were dumb enough to leave a paper trail or something.
Either way, I have absolutely no problem with an organization asking for an investigation into human rights violations in this case, and I can’t find a lie in their reasons for pursuing it either.
In addition to the investigation request, multiple Taiwanese figures are charging JYPE with coercion.
It was recently revealed that various Taiwanese figures, including human rights lawyer Wang Kefu (王可富) and famous MC Hu Zhongxin (胡忠信), are accusing JYP Entertainment — which houses TWICE — of coercion, forcing Tzuyu to apologize. According to reports by local media on January 19, charges were pressed at a Taipei police office on January 18.
They don’t have jurisdiction, so it probably won’t get anywhere. There’s also a bit of grandstanding in this, but again, I get it.
