Yu Byung-chae, a government official and head of public communications at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has been included in the list of three candidates for the new director of the National Gugak Center, leading to backlash from the traditional Korean music community. Chairpersons of Korean music and education associations, including the Korea National Gugak Association, stated in a public declaration today, “The director of the National Gugak Center should be a person with deep expertise in the field of traditional arts,” and strongly opposed the appointment of an administrative civil servant as the director.
Yesterday, both former and current artistic directors of the National Gugak Center issued a statement, and in early March, former directors and research heads of the National Gugak Center also issued statements expressing their opposition, emphasizing the need for a gugak expert director to preserve the authenticity and future of gugak.
Yu, who is included as a candidate, previously served as a secretary in the presidential office under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. He apologized after making a false statement during a National Assembly audit regarding the controversy over the presidential performance at KTV involving First Lady Kim Geon-hee, claiming there was “no separate audience.”