When the "giant" became the "sinner" of Kpop

The CEO of Hybe Group has apologized for internal documents containing offensive content about many Kpop artists. However, this "giant" is still facing a wave of anger and criticism from industry insiders and the public.

Industry insiders have lost faith in Hybe.

Hybe Group is becoming the center of criticism after being exposed by National Assembly delegates for defaming idols of rival companies in internal documents.

Facing the scandal, Isplus newspaper did not hesitate to affirm: "Hybe became the common enemy of Kpop".

Hybe bị kêu gọi tẩy chay: Khi — Hybe CEO - Lee Jae Sang.

In the latest development, Lee Jae Sang - CEO Hybe officially apologized "for the provocative and vulgar content towards Kpop artists".

CEO Lee Jae Sang admitted, "The document contains provocative and obvious content aimed at K-pop artists, including the personal opinions and judgments of the report writer."

The employee responsible for drafting the document was removed from his position on the same day. He was identified as Content Director Kang, Editor-in-Chief of Hybe's Weverse Magazine.

Hybe's representative said the decision was to take responsibility for the provocative and unprofessional content of the document.

"Mr. Lee Jae Sang affirmed that he was contacting each company individually to apologize directly, but as soon as the internal report was revealed to the outside world , the industry's trust in Hybe was shattered.

The number one company in the industry that continues to grow rapidly suddenly becomes the public enemy of all of Kpop," Isplus commented.

The scandal broke out as the giant Hybe was forced to repay 400 billion won ($293 million) in bonds issued in 2021 by November 5. This forced the company to issue new bonds to cover the debt, according to Maeil Business News.

Allkpop reported that at an internal meeting, CEO Lee Jae Sang moved to quell concerns about Hybe's financial situation. Mr. Lee is said to have told employees that the group has "1.2 trillion won (about 880 million USD) in cash, our financial situation is very good."

The group's 2024 first-half report showed that Hybe had 321.45 billion won (US$235.8 million) in cash and equivalents, plus 753.1 billion won (US$552.4 million) in other liquid assets, for a total of 1.075 billion won (US$788.2 million).

The group also reported it is currently facing 714.22 billion won ($523.8 million) in debt.

"However, it appears that Hybe has no plans to withdraw cash to repay the bonds. Instead, the group plans to refinance by issuing new bonds.

To make a profit on the bonds, Hybe's stock price must be higher at the time the bonds mature. However, the K-pop giant's stock price has been steadily falling over the past year and a half, closing at 179,500 won (US$131.75) on October 15," Music Business Worldwide said.

Hybe's noisy panorama

According to The Korea Times, on October 24, Kim Tae Ho - CEO of Hybe Group and director of subsidiary Belift Lab participated in testifying at the audit of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the Korean National Assembly.

Here, part of the 18,000-page "Weekly Music Industry Report" for Hybe's senior executives was revealed.

In it, the report bluntly criticized the appearance of other idols: "Youth isn't everything. They debuted a group when the members were at their worst"; "The other members look surprisingly ugly. This is the obvious reason why they aren't successful"...

Regarding SM Entertainment's new girl group, the report mentioned, "There were rumors about SM's new girl group with about 8 candidates, but surprisingly, none of them were pretty. Considering the reactions to the group's appearance at the time, you have to wonder if SM's aesthetic has changed."

Referring to JYP Entertainment's girl group, the report said: "The members who left group X had so much plastic surgery that they were almost unrecognizable. It was clear that they were exposed to an environment that made it difficult to maintain their mental health. This was especially evident in their appearance. Idol Y also seemed to be showing similar signs."

According to exclusive information from Sports Kyunghyang, Hybe's music industry report names idols from a series of large companies such as SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment or smaller companies such as Cube Entertainment and Starship Entertainment.

Even when a member of the group Stray Kids came to film a video with a TXT member to help promote TXT's new song, HYBE leaders criticized his appearance.

Representative Min Hyung Bae of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea condemned the report's content, saying that these comments and insulting words aimed at minors showed an inhumane view of idols.

He also noted that this behavior violates the Ministry of Culture's law to protect the rights of children and adolescents in the entertainment industry.

While the congressional audit was still pending, Hybe made an official statement to the media on the evening of October 24.

The announcement said: "Our report is a compilation of various reactions and opinions from the fan community and the industry. It is an excerpt from online posts, intended to share industry trends and issues with a small number of people within the company for reference. It does not represent the views of Hybe.

We will hold those who leaked the documents accountable to the end. By only combining some of the provocative content in the report, it makes it feel like Hybe created a document criticizing the artist."

However, Hybe's actions were reprimanded by members of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee. They stressed that the National Assembly's inspection was being conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the law. Hybe's mid-way statement made the National Assembly's inspection meaningless.

Hybe CEO Kim Tae Ho apologized to the National Assembly: "It was a clear mistake to make a statement while the national audit was underway. We sincerely apologize. We had absolutely no intention of undermining the authority of the National Assembly."

He explained that Hybe had received a lot of questions from the media and could not respond to each unit. In addition, there was misinformation circulating online. Therefore, the company quickly responded by posting a statement.

Facing the noise, Hybe is facing a wave of protests from the audience and people in the industry.

On social media, Carat - the fan community of Seventeen group is calling for a boycott of Hybe. They stated that Hybe's actions are inhumane and need to be condemned.

They called for a stop to buying Seventeen's album. Fan communities of other artists such as V (BTS), Lisa (Blackpink) also pushed the keyword on X together, asking Hybe to directly apologize to their idols.

CEO Lee Jae Sang's actions in blaming and removing the writer of the controversial report, Content Director Kang, also angered public opinion.

According to Daily Sports, Bang Shi Hyuk - Chairman of Hybe Group is said to have directly participated in the process of sending the above documents to senior leaders in the group.

However, it is still unclear whether Mr. Bang directly ordered the report to be written, but it is unacceptable that he allowed such a provocative and biased document to be circulated among high-ranking officials.

"Even if the editor-in-chief was the one who drafted it, someone must have instructed them to do so and others must have reviewed it afterwards. The problem lies in the clear content it contains. Punishing only the individual who wrote it will definitely attract criticism," music critic Lim Hee Yun expressed.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/hybe-bi-keu-goi-tay-chay-khi-ga-khong-lo-tro-thanh-ke-toi-do-cua-kpop-192241030110304433.htm