HYBE apologizes for leaked 'Music Industry Report' as court rejects Min Heejin's ADOR CEO's request

Lee Jaesang, CEO of South Korean entertainment company HYBE, who took over the role from Park Jiwon earlier this summer, has publicly apologized for an internal document that contained derogatory remarks about various K-pop groups and idols. As noted by The Korea TimesHYBE's “Weekly Music Industry Report” was brought to light during an audit conducted by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the South Korean National Assembly on October 24th. Parts of it have now leaked online.

On October 29, CEO Lee released a statement, which can be found on HYBE's press site in Korean, apologizing for the report, which the company calls a “monitoring document.” According to a translation from a HYBE representative, Lee began the statement with an apology to “the artists, industry representatives and fans.”

In the statement, Lee said the document was never intended to reach the masses as it was “only meant to be made available to a limited number of executives to understand market and fan sentiment,” but added that “the content was highly inappropriate.” According to Lee, the document contained “provocative and explicit statements aimed at K-pop artists.”

“As a representative of the company, I acknowledge any errors and accept full responsibility,” Lee wrote. “I am particularly saddened and disturbed by the unfounded suspicions of reverse viral marketing, which are completely untrue and cause misunderstanding and harm to innocent artists and individuals.”

Lee's note continued with a formal apology to “the external artists named in the document who have suffered harm and suffering” and said HYBE will “reach out to each agency individually to offer our apology directly.” In the statement, Lee also apologized to all HYBE artists and promised that no more “monitoring documents” of this kind will be created in the future.

Lee's apology comes at a difficult legal time for HYBE. On the same day the statement was issued, the Seoul Central District Court reportedly rejected Min Heejin's request to be reinstated as CEO of HYBE subsidiary ADOR. Back in August, it was announced that Min would step down from the position of CEO and Kim Juyoung would take over.