Seoul Philharmonic in 'growing pains'
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Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Choe Heung-sik
By Kwon Ji-youn
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) CEO Choe Heung-sik said Tuesday he is confident the orchestra will grow into a world-class one once it overcomes the growing pains it is currently experiencing.
During a press conference at a restaurant in central Seoul, Choe pledged to mold the orchestra into one that provides people with high quality music and to increase the number of concerts the nation’s top orchestra holds annually.
“The SPO is working with a consulting firm and a vision committee to ensure the orchestra emerges from its strife as one that Koreans are proud of, one that we can call Korea’s top orchestra,” Choe said. “As for now, stabilization is most pressing. But I believe we are simply experiencing growing pains, as most organizations do after 10 years. Once we ride this out, the SPO will undoubtedly become one the world’s top ten orchestras within the next 10 years.”
Choe refused to blame the orchestra’s stagnancy on a string of recent controversies, including those surrounding its music director and reputed conductor Chung Myung-whun.
“It is rash to be questioning why the SPO is not yet one of the world’s top orchestras,” he said. “It has grown significantly over the last 10 years, during which it may have overlooked some administrative issues, but it still has a long way to go. The silver lining is that we are learning from such hardships ― without them, we may never have self-reflected or reexamined ourselves.”
Choe, the former head of Hana Financial Group, took office on July 1 as the orchestra’s CEO and president, an appointment that came six months after former CEO Park Hyun-jung stepped down following alleged misconduct.
The SPO is recovering from friction that ensued last year surrounding CEO Park's mistreatment of employees. Seventeen employees of the SPO's administrative department issued a press release last December requesting her removal and an internal investigation into her conduct.
To concerns that he lacks a musical background, which also played a role in Park and Chung’s discord, Choe said his role will be to support the orchestra so that it is able to perform in an environment that lets the members and the music director do their job.
“My job will be to support the orchestra, to make sure they are able to produce great music,” he said firmly. “If there are doubts, I believe we need to make sure management is transparent.”
With regards to Chung, who is currently undergoing a police investigation over suspicions he embezzled more than 50 million won ($45,000) as music director of the SPO, Choe said it was not his place to comment.
“I merely hope all investigations will wrap up promptly,” he said. “We are looking to settle contract renewal discussions by the end of September.”
Choe also stressed the SPO’s need for a hall of its own.
“The SPO must improve musically, and for this, we must increase the number of performances we hold yearly,” he said. “But even if we plan them, we often have to search high and low for a place to hold them.”
Choe said during his term, the SPO will reorganize its systems, reach out to more sponsors and increase the number of its members.
He concluded, “We need to be expanding, not reducing, the SPO’s budget. I ask that the public judge the orchestra by its music, not its controversies, and refrain from treating it as a political target.”