Hybe, a popular entertainment company in South Korea, has sparked controversy by producing an“Industry trend report” that includes comments on singers’ looks, MBC television reported Wednesday. Under pressure, the company quickly issued a formal apology and held a staff meeting on the 30th to discuss the matter. In addition, the report of the WEVERSE magazine director Jiang was removed from office.
The Korean idol group SEVENTEEN member Fu Shengkuan
It started with a report on industry trends
Li Zaishang, representative director of HYBE, said through the company’s official website on the 29th that the report was aimed at understanding public opinion and was only shared with some people, but the contents of the relevant documents were very inappropriate. For the relevant content produced into a document, I admit all mistakes on behalf of the company, I feel responsible. Li also said that artists from other companies to formally apologize, is in contact with the agencies, and will apologize in person. To ensure that such problems do not recur in the future, the company will establish work guidelines and strengthen internal management.
Prior to the 24th of the Korean National Committee on Culture, Sports and tourism in the National Government inspection meeting, it was pointed out that HYBE companies in Korea to domestic idol group members as the object of the industry trend report. The report included comments on the appearance of South Korean idols such as“The members were ugly and rushed to make their debut”, “No one was an idol’s facial features, and the plastic surgery was too serious” and“The other members were all hideously ugly”. In the wake of the controversy, Hybe later said on its website that the report was a synthesis of industry opinion, not Hybe’s position. “The forces responsible for leaking documents to the outside world will be pursued to the end,” the Hybe said, drawing further criticism.
“We are not your merchandise.”
South Korea’s“Daily economy,” said the idol group SEVENTEEN members of the Fushengkuan 29 uploaded a suspected criticism of the Hybe company article, causing concern. In a post on social media platforms, Fu said, “Those people are not objects that you can judge or judge at will. It’s not just us. It’s the same for other artists as well. We are not your products. Don’t treat us as objects of arbitrary consumption.”
The report also said that despite a public apology from Hybe’s head, the negative press against Hybe may not be easily calmed. Hybe, the country’s biggest entertainment company by market capitalisation and the BTS of the K-POP industry, has been sharing vitriolic criticism of other entertainment company icons internally, this has a big impact on people. From a dispute with Min hee-jin, a representative of the Ador subsidiary, to the crying of Hanni, a member of the women’s group NewJeans, who has been ostracized by the company, there has been a steady stream of negative news about HYBE, i hope that Hybe will show the first domestic entertainment company should be the attitude, no longer“Negative topic makers.”.
The singer was ostracized and the upper echelons fought
There has been a lot of bad news about Hybe recently. On April 15, Hanni, a member of the women’s group NewJeans, appeared before the Korean Parliament’s environmental and Labor Committee to complain about being ostracized by the company, Yonhap News Agency reported. Jin Zhurong, Chief Human Resources Officer at Hybe and representative of New Jeans Ador, denied the allegations. Hanni was asked the same day about“Idol group exclusion and workplace bullying.”. She mentioned being ignored by another HYBE artist group. She recalls greeting three members of the other team and a female agent as they walked past her in the hallway after she finished her makeup. When they came out again about five or 10 minutes later, the agent said to the members following behind, “Just ignore her.”. Hanni contended that NewJeans had been sidelined by Hybe and claimed that the agents of Illit, a women’s group owned by Hybe’s subsidiary, had forced Illit members to ignore Hanni.
Earlier, according to a report by the South Korean newspaper joongang Ilbo, min Hee-jin, a representative of Ador, which owns the women’s group NewJeans, once countered Hybe’s claim of a“Suspected usurpation of the franchise” by saying that she had“No plan to usurp the franchise, no intention of usurping the franchise, and had not carried it out”. “It wasn’t me who betrayed Hybe, it was Hybe who betrayed me,” min says. “He threw me out when he used me, and then he put me in harm’s way.”. A lawyer likened the incident to a divorce lawsuit in which the husband (HYBE) suddenly filed for divorce with his wife (Ador) and the daughters (Newjeans) were thrown into chaos because of the Gaokao the day after tomorrow (back in May) .
“This incident has exposed the very dark side of the K-POP (Korean Wave) industry that has been trying to hide,” said Linn Mo, a popular music critic in South Korea, “In terms of the huge blow to K-POP, this is more serious than last year’s S & M franchise dispute,” he said.