Everything About the Leaked HYBE Report That Criticised K-Pop Stars

By
Champa Ha
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Imagine your own toxic office gossip getting leaked to the people that you’ve been gossiping about.

Yeah, I see you cringe with embarrassment at the possibility of that happening. Or it could be guilt, we can’t be sure.

But yes. Imagine that all the shitty criticism, pettiness, and rumour-mongering you’ve been slinging has been recorded, and it takes up so many more pages than you would expect (18,000 pages, for example).

And then, worst case scenario: imagine all those pages revealed in the government.

Seems pretty bad. But imagine 20 pages get leaked and now the whole world knows what you’ve said.

And the people you were gossiping about?

Only the most popular, beloved, talented and beautiful people in the world.

If I haven’t said you were screwed earlier, you should know now. The drill is coming for you to prepare the hole you’re gonna be in, and the screwdriver of consequences? That’s next.

Speaking of which …

Coincidentally, South Korean multinational entertainment company HYBE is at the centre of a firestorm of controversy due to the exact same situation.

In a comprehensive audit of public institutions under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday, a Democratic Party lawmaker Rep Min Hyung-Bae revealed an internal HYBE report titled, “Weekly Music Industry Report.”

The report is something issued weekly to C-level executives of HYBE and its labels, and Rep Min critiqued the report for having a horrible, dehumanising attitude towards the artists under their label, as well as other K-Pop singers in the industry.

This includes artists under rival agencies such as SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment.

But how bad can the report be?

Pretty bad, if we have to be honest.

Wow. That’s a lot. 

The document included harsh remarks about the physical appearance of K-pop artists, with statements such as, “They debuted at an age when they’re at their most unattractive,”

As an added context: some of the artists in question are minors.

Other comments included speculations over foreign interference on popularity for certain stars such as Lisa from Blackpink, which stars went overboard with plastic surgery, and discussions on how to get rid of girl group NewJeans.

Kim Tae-ho, CEO of Belift Lab and COO of HYBE, attended the audit on behalf of the company, and has clarified that the report did not represent HYBEs opinions.

It was in fact a compilation of online comments collected for monitoring purposes to understand trends across the industry.

Which, when you think about it, shouldn’t actually include malicious comments, sharing rumours, and discussing plans to carry out viral marketing tactics against rival artistes, but sure.

About 20 pages of the report have been fully leaked online, which has resulted in a firestorm of anger and criticism from the public.

But wait; it gets worse

Days later, HYBE posted a statement on its official website, sharing that the report was meant to monitor various responses and public opinions from the fandom and the industry.

“We will hold accountable those who selectively leaked provocative portions of the report to make it appear as though HYBE had criticised the artists,” said the statement.

This was posted while the National Assembly audit was still ongoing, so that led to a round of protests from members of the committee protested.

Kim apologised, saying, “I accept the criticism that it was inappropriate for the statement to be posted during the audit.” The statement had been uploaded in response to media inquiries and to prevent the spread of misinformation, according to the man.

The statement has since been removed from HYBE’s website as CEO Lee Jae Sang has released an official statement in response to recent controversy.

“Although it was intended to be shared only with a limited number of leaders to understand market and fan sentiments, the content was highly inappropriate,” the statement read.

“As the representative of the company, I acknowledge all the mistakes and take full responsibility.”

 

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A post shared by 승관 SEUNGKWAN (@pledis_boos)

 

SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan took to Instagram to share about his experiences as a K-pop artist and its challenges, saying that he hopes “people don’t take idols lightly.”

“You don’t have the right to easily intrude on our narrative. Not just us, but other artists as well, we are not your items. I hope you don’t think you can use and enjoy us as you please,” he wrote in Korean.

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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Champa Ha