Hybe CEO Lee Jae-sang, who’s apologized for comments made about rival K-pop agencies’ under-18 talent in internal company documents. Photo Credit: Hybe
Another day, another wave of K-pop drama – or more specifically waves, one involving comments made in Hybe internal documents about the physical appearances of competitors’ underage talent.
Though this latest K-pop controversy is just beginning to make stateside headlines, it actually stems from an October 24th hearing in South Korea’s National Assembly. According to the Korea Times, that hearing coincided with an audit spearheaded by the legislative body’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.
Execs including Hybe COO Kim Tae-ho were on hand for the corresponding grilling, per the Times. (As clarified in an article-end disclaimer, the Times’ Hankook Ilbo sister publication first covered the episode; AI translated that piece into English, and Times editors revised the work prior to publication.)
Lawmakers promptly zeroed in on a copy of Hybe’s “Weekly Music Industry Report,” described as a competitive-landscape analysis circulated among execs and containing remarks pertaining to various rival agencies’ acts.
Of course, some of those groups feature members under the age of 18; ousted SM founder Lee Soo-man’s A2O Entertainment, for instance, recently debuted with “rookies” as young as 12.
But that didn’t stop the report’s author (more on this in a moment) from reportedly alleging that certain of the talent had debuted “at an awkward age,” with “none of their features” standing out as a result.
Additional ill-advised comments maintained that the artists (whose names were redacted from the public copy) had “overdone” plastic surgery, and different remarks yet attacked the child entertainers as “shockingly unattractive,” the Times reported.
Irked lawmakers emphasized that the descriptions could constitute violations of various child-protection laws. And Hybe’s aforementioned COO, for his part, attempted to downplay the report as an unofficial recap of various individuals’ online opinions as opposed to the company’s formal stance.
While time will reveal whether there’s any serious fallout to speak of, at present, the professional home of BTS has already issued an apology from CEO Lee Jae-sang, nixed the weekly report in question, and reassigned the purported author to an HR role, according to the Korea Herald.
In any event, it goes without saying that the fiasco isn’t a good look for Hybe, which seems to be grappling with fresh criticism from at least one of its acts.
Seventeen member Seungkwan, signed to Hybe’s Pledis Entertainment, recently penned a social media post about his inability to “remain silent,” with the lengthy Korean-language text touching on, among other things, K-pop professionals’ grueling schedules and demanding workloads.
Lastly, regarding the initial usage of “waves,” Hybe is still embroiled in an ugly dispute with Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of its Ador subsidiary.
A court has now rejected the ousted Ador head’s bid for reinstatement, the Herald indicated. However, Min Hee-jin intends to keep on battling for her previous role, including based on the belief that the overarching shareholder agreement remains in force notwithstanding her dismissal.