At the audit of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly of Korea held on October 24, part of the content of the "Weekly Music Industry Report" for HYBE Group CEOs was revealed.
Among them, information such as appearance evaluation, personal life controversy and skill evaluation of idols from other entertainment companies attract attention.
The weekly report is written by the Editor-in-Chief of Weverse Magazine, published by Weverse Company - a subsidiary of HYBE.
The report contained criticism of other idols' looks, such as: "Youth isn't everything. They debuted a group when the members were at their worst. No one looked like idols, they performed like a high school talent show"; "The other members looked surprisingly ugly. This is the obvious reason why they didn't succeed"...
Referring to idols appearing on an entertainment program, the report wrote: “The combined power of ugliness is at an unbearable level.”
Also, regarding SM Entertainment's new girl group, the report mentioned, "There are rumors of SM's new girl group with about 8 candidates, but surprisingly, none of them are pretty. Considering the reactions to the appearance of the *** group that debuted at the time, you have to wonder if SM's aesthetic sense has changed."
Regarding the former JYP Entertainment girl group members, the report said, "Members ** and **, who left the group ****, had so much plastic surgery that they were almost unrecognizable."
This report was previously mentioned by former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. On May 24, Min Hee Jin announced that ADOR had objected to the “Industry Trend Assessment” document circulated internally by Editor A, claiming that it lacked factual accuracy and minimal objectivity.
“I do not understand why such a subjective and biased document, lacking credibility, was distributed to company executives as if it represented the company’s official stance,” she added.
While the National Assembly audit was still pending, at around 7pm on October 24, HYBE released an official statement to the media.
“Our report is a compilation of a wide range of reactions and opinions from the fan community and the industry,” the company said.
These are excerpts from online posts, intended to share industry trends and issues with a small number of people within the company for reference. They do not represent the views of HYBE.
We will hold those who leaked the documents accountable to the end. By only including some of the provocative content in the report, it makes it seem like HYBE created a document criticizing the artist.”
However, HYBE's actions were reprimanded by members of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee. They emphasized that the National Assembly's inspection was being conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the law. HYBE's mid-way statement made the National Assembly's inspection meaningless.
HYBE CEO Kim Tae Ho, who participated in the audit as a witness, apologized to the National Assembly: “It was a clear mistake to make a statement while the national audit was underway. We sincerely apologize. We had absolutely no intention of undermining the authority of the National Assembly.”
He explained that HYBE had received a lot of media inquiries and could not respond to each one. In addition, there was misinformation circulating online. Therefore, the company quickly responded by posting a statement.
