HYBE CEO issues apology for controversial leaked internal reports

HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang has issued a formal apology regarding leaked internal reports, which allegedly contained controversial remarks about K-pop idols.

According to The Korea Herald, the document and its contents were first made public during a National Assembly audit into the entertainment giant on October 24, during which HYBE COO and subsidiary label Belift Labs CEO Kim Tae-ho was questioned about its practices.

During the audit carried out by the South Korean National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee, assemblyman Min Hyung-bae said that the “Weekly Industry Music Report” allegedly contained 18,000 pages of malicious comments about various K-pop artists and groups, including minors.

The idols reportedly mentioned in the leaked document hail from industry rivals such as JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment and more. Following the leak, HYBE faced widespread backlash from fans.

On October 29, CEO Lee Jae-sang issued a formal apology via HYBE’s website to “the artists, industry colleagues and fans affected by the language used in our monitoring document”, per CNA Lifestyle.

“The document was created in the process of collecting various responses and public opinions on industry trends and issues,” he wrote. “It was shared with only some leaders for the purpose of understanding the market and fan opinions, but the content of the document was very inappropriate.” Lee also noted “unfounded suspicions of reverse viral marketing” stemming from the documents’ leak, claiming they “are not true at all”.

Lee went on to “acknowledge all my mistakes on behalf of the company”, saying he felt “responsible for the fact that it contained provocative and crude expressions toward K-pop artistes, the fact that the writer’s personal views and evaluations were added, and the fact that the content was left in the document.”

The HYBE CEO also wrote that the company is actively reaching out to each company and artist mentioned in the leaked report to offer direct apologies. Lee added that his apology extends to “all artists under HYBE who have unfairly faced criticism due to this issue”.

Lee concluded the statement by writing, “We acknowledge that the leadership that received the document lacked awareness of the problem. We have immediately stopped creating the monitoring document. We promise to establish guidelines and strengthen internal controls so that this problem never happens again.”

The apology comes after SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan posted a lengthy message on Instagram about the K-pop industry and voicing his support for fellow idols.

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