In the Kpop industry, management companies play an important role for artists. In most cases, the company will represent the artist in statements. For dating news, the management company will also respond to the public.
YG Entertainment is one of the entertainment companies that is often mentioned for how it responds to artists' dating rumors.
In 2022, WINNER's Kang Seung Yoon was spotted holding hands with a girl who fans believed to be his girlfriend, actress Moon Ji Hyo. YG responded, "It's difficult to confirm the artist's personal matters."
In 2023, when Jennie from Blackpink and V from BTS were rumored to be dating, YG stated: "We have nothing to say. It's hard to confirm because this is the artists' private life."
When Lisa (Blackpink) and LVMH luxury group heir Frederic Arnault revealed many dating evidences, YG simply did not say a word.
According to Koreaboo, dating rumors in the Kpop industry are often detrimental to idols' careers, or cause chaos in the fan community, so many entertainment companies prohibit their artists from dating, or revealing their dating.
But YG Entertainment seems to be very comfortable with dating rumors of idols. Many viewers think that YG seems to not care about their artists being in love.
The audience also remembers some other funny cases in the way YG responded to love rumors.
When Korean media reported that Taeyang (Big Bang) and actress Min Hyo Rin were dating, YG said: "Taeyang cannot be contacted at the moment. But if the dating news is true, we will congratulate him."
When Jennie (Blackpink) and Kai (EXO) were revealed to be dating in 2019, YG responded to Osen: "Jennie is dating? We didn't know. We are currently confirming the truth." After SM confirmed that the two idols were indeed dating, YG responded a second time: "We have the same answer as SM."
YG’s lack of a clear response has left some fans dissatisfied. On the contrary, many people believe that YG is showing respect for the artists’ private lives, not being as restrictive as other companies. If the artists want to confirm or deny, they can speak up for themselves.
In addition, moves like YG's contribute to making K-pop fans less strict about idols dating. A comment on Reddit pointed out that when companies strongly deny dating rumors of artists, it only makes dating become a wrong thing that artists should not do.
There have also been cases where YG has denied dating rumors of its artists in the past. But the audience speculates that this may be a request from the artists because they do not want to speak up themselves.
