≪Choi Ji-ye’s Epilogue≫
Ten Asia reporter Choi Ji-ye objectively and keenly points out events that have occurred throughout the entertainment industry every Tuesday. We carefully analyze the ‘glitch’ you missed from a reporter’s perspective. It is self-contradiction. They said they would give him a chance by appealing for desperate reflection and restoration of trust, but now they say it was a wrong decision for which there is no room for excuses. CJ ENM changed its stance in just two days.
CJ ENM recently rehired PD Ahn Joon-young, who manipulated the rankings in Mnet's 'Produce' series that aired in 2019. The shock to the industry as well as the public was great. Who would have thought that PD Ahn, who was entertained by agency officials and trampled on the dreams of aspiring idols by manipulating survival rankings, would re-enter CJ ENM.
More than anything, it was the employees of CJ ENM who felt the greatest sense of self-destruction. In addition, CJ ENM had recently been undergoing internal restructuring and reorganization. It is said that most employees heard the news of PD Ahn's re-employment through articles as performance fell and there was little recovery momentum. The morale of CJ ENM employees has hit rock bottom.
As the repercussions continued, with the political world also taking issue with the incident, CJ ENM stepped down. CJ ENM, which accepted Producer Ahn Joon-young's appeal saying, 'I want to do my part to reflect deeply on past mistakes and restore trust between Mnet and individuals,' bowed its head and made an official apology in just two days.
CJ ENM said, "The decision to provide an opportunity to make up for past mistakes did not meet our standards for social fairness," and added, "We would like to express our apologies to our executives and employees who have quietly devoted themselves to their work with pride in being the best content company." He apologized. He continued, “Nevertheless, we humbly accept the shortcomings in terms of hiring standards and will quickly make up for the problems that were revealed this time.”
However, the apology did not include a statement on PD Ahn Joon-young's future plans, which drew criticism once again. In response to criticism that the apology was merely lip service and lacked actual measures for correction, CJ ENM added that it was "discussing PD Ahn's re-retirement," but no clear decision has been made yet.
Due to a series of events, it was revealed that not only CJ ENM's external performance but also its internal life was suffering greatly. There was speculation that PD Ahn's re-employment was a follow-up to the past ranking manipulation incident in which PD Ahn took the lead and CJ ENM cut off the tail. In addition, there is some sarcasm asking whether CJ ENM's PD talent pool is insufficient to the point where PD Ahn Joon-young needs to be re-hired.
Because of this situation, it is pointed out that CJ ENM's outside directors are not playing their proper roles. As of March 28, CJ ENM reappointed outside directors Choi Jung-kyung and Han Sang-dae. Director Choi is a former chair professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Public Administration and currently serves as president of the Korea-U.S. Association, and director Han is a former prosecutor general of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
Those with extensive experience have been serving as outside directors of CJ ENM since 2020, and as noise related to CJ ENM's management continues, voices are growing that the role of outside directors in supervising overall corporate management activities is disappointing.
CJ ENM needs reorganization and awakening both internally and externally. In order for CJ ENM, which has dominated the world at the center of K-culture, to regain its rightful place, it seems that it desperately needs proper correction and external advice with independence and objectivity, rather than a mere apology.
Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr