HYBE CEO apologises for controversial internal document containing malicious statements on many K-pop artistes

On Tuesday (Oct 29), the CEO of South Korean entertainment conglomerate HYBE issued an official apology for the company's internal monitoring document, which reportedly had negative comments on multiple K-pop idols in the industry.

Lee Jae-sang, the CEO of South Korean entertainment conglomerate HYBE, has issued an official apology for the company's leaked internal monitoring document which has drawn backlash from many fans of the K-pop industry. The document reportedly contained malicious comments on many K-pop acts, including those not affiliated with HYBE.

The document's existence was brought to light during a National Assembly audit on Oct 24. Min Hyung-bae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was questioning Kim Tae-ho – the COO of HYBE and CEO of BELIFT LAB (one of HYBE's sub-labels) – on the company's practices.

Min then revealed the existence of an internal HYBE document titled Weekly Music Industry Report. Totalling up to about 18,000 pages, this document reportedly had disparaging comments on many K-pop idols from rival companies including SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment.

Statements included "[This agency] debuted the members at an age when they were still in their awkward, unattractive phase, so none of them have the typical idol features", "Too much plastic surgery" and "The other members were shockingly unattractive".

The backlash that followed was swift with many K-pop fans defending their idols from these companies.

On Tuesday (Oct 29), Lee Jae-sang released an official apology via HYBE's website.

"I bow my head and apologise to artistes, industry insiders, and fans regarding the monitoring document pointed out during the National Assembly Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee’s state audit on Oct 24. The document was created in the process of collecting various responses and public opinions on industry trends and issues. 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.

"I acknowledge all my mistakes on behalf of the company and feel 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."

Lee added that he would be contacting each affected agency separately to apologise directly.

"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."