What’s Going on with BTS’ Label, HYBE? Inside Their Controversial Report

What’s going on with HYBE, a.k.a. BTS‘ music label? The multinational entertainment company has come under fire after parts of their “music industry report” have been revealed through a recent National Assembly audit.

The report was compiled weekly by a HYBE executive listed as A, a former music critic and now the editor-in-chief of Weverse Magazine (a publication of HYBE’s Weverse Company), and was shared with multiple HYBE executives, including Chairman Bang Si Hyuk. Following the report’s release, HYBE clarified that the report in question was monitoring data and isn’t an official position of the company.

Keep reading for what the report contained:

1. Comments About Their Own Idols & Idols From Other Companies

On Monday, October 28, South Korean news outlet Sports Kyunghyang reported that it had obtained the expanded contents of the report, which contained comments about HYBE’s own idols, as well as harsh evaluations of idols from other entertainment companies — discussing their looks, personal controversies and online reputation.

According to Sports Kyunghyang (per AllKpop), the documents contained negative remarks about multiple groups such as aespa, RIIZE, NMIXX, and even their own groups NewJeans, SEVENTEEN and BTS.

2. The NewJeans of It All

NewJeans has been a major player in all of this, as HYBE first submitted an audit against ADOR, NewJeans’ sub-label under HYBE, earlier this year.

Since then, HYBE’s CEO was forced to step down, and the company has faced allegations of workplace bullying. This prompted NewJeans member Hanni to testify about her unfair treatment before South Korea’s National Assembly Labor Committee on October 15, which led to HYBE undergoing its own audit.

Now, it’s being revealed that HYBE had plans to “oust” NewJeans, as per the report.

The document noted that when ILLIT debuted and joined the ranks of HYBE’s girl groups including NewJeans and LE SSERAFIM, multiple media outlet referred to the trio as “New-ILL-LE” to praise the groups as the new generation of HYBE idols.

However, the report included plans to remove “New” from this acronym and create a new category to tie LE SSERAFIM into for promotion.

The report states, “Right now, it might be necessary to tie LE SSERAFIM to BLACKPINK, aespa, and IVE into the category of girl groups as million sellers in the first week of sales and separate them from the 4th generation. We were plagued by the term New-ILL-LE for a few days, but we can just throw “New” away and start a whole new thing.”

3. BTS V Dating Rumors

Another aspect of the report had to do with BTS member V, specifically, and his dating rumors with BLACKPINK’s Jennie, which first sparked in 2022.

The document stated that the dating rumors could be an opportunity for the other members of BTS to escape public scrutiny within their own relationships, as the public focused on V and Jennie.

HYBE’s Response to the Report

HYBE later clarified that the report in question was monitoring data, and not an official HYBE statement.

Previously, HYBE COO and Belift Lab CEO Kim Tae Ho responded at the National Assembly audit on October 24, where parts of the report were revealed, stating, “While this document was created within HYBE, it merely contains monitoring data and does not represent HYBE’s stance. We acknowledge the report’s inappropriateness and will work to prevent similar issues from recurring.”

“The monitoring report disclosed at the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee audit collects various opinions and public sentiment from fandoms and the industry,” HYBE wrote in another statement posted promptly on its website after the report’s release. “It compiles responses from communities and social media as-is for reference by a small internal group and does not reflect HYBE’s position.”

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