One of the biggest stories in K-Pop right now is the situation occurring between SM Entertainment and HYBE. On February 10, HYBE announced it had purchased Lee Soo Man’s shares, making it the largest shareholder in the company.
SM Entertainment’s founder Lee Soo Man | SM Entertainment
On February 20 (KST), SM Entertainment’s CFO, Cheol Hyuk Jang, released a video revealing his take on the situation.
CFO Cheol Hyuk Hang | SMTOWN/YouTube
In the video, Cheol Hyuk Jang shared his views on the “Hostile Takeover” from HYBE after the company acquired 40% of the shares of SM Entertainment after buying them from Lee Soo Man.
| SMTOWN/YouTube
| SMTOWN/YouTube
Yet, amidst the new video coming out, some netizens were shocked to see the phrase “BIGHIT” trending.
On social media, netizens couldn’t hide their relief that amongst the drama, HYBE K-Pop groups like BTS and TXT were seemingly safe from everything that was going on.
In particular, they praised Bang Si Hyuk for making BIGHIT MUSIC a private entity back in 2021 before the Ithaca merger.
im just enjoying and having fun with the sm/hybe drama, because bts and txt are safe thanks to pd making bighit private pic.twitter.com/XqHyOSMqfn
— yas (@soobwhat) February 20, 2023
really the smartest thing he has ever done is making bighit music private before he stepped down we love yew bang sihyuk!
— btxt archive ✧ stream temptation!
(@0X1_1304) February 20, 2023
laughing at all of this knowing bts and txt are safe no matter what bc bighit ent is private
— the zay chapter⁷ | SEEING TXT (@12btxt) February 9, 2023
bighit is private so me and bts are good the rest of y’all have fun though pic.twitter.com/UsU0qkgI99
— jess⁷ (@butjesswhy) February 20, 2023
Yet, as BIGHIT started trending, many netizens shared confusion about how the company is a separate entity and how it impacts the current situation with SM Entertainment.
HYBE is a corporation and acts as an umbrella company for many different subsidiary labels, including BIGHIT, BE:LIFT, ADOR, Pledis, and Source Music. All of the artists under the different labels work within HYBE but are operated by their own subsidiaries.
The format of HYBE following the Ithaca merger | Koreaboo
In regard to BIGHIT, the only three artists under the company are BTS, TXT, and soloist Lee Hyun.
The members of BTS under BIGHIT | @bts_bighit/Twitter
The members of TXT | @txt_bighit/Twitter
Soloist Lee Hyun is also under BIGHIT MUSIC | @leehyun_bighit/Twitter
Yet, although the significance of BIGHIT MUSIC might not seem important, many ARMYs and fans have shared their relief as the label is an independent entity.
One important thing HYBE did before the acquisition: They made BigHit Music completely independent. It’s now private, unlisted and the artists at BH Music (Lee Hyun, BTS, TXT) are now completely separate from HYBE, though BH Music is still a subsidiary.+https://t.co/KYOTjCPdL0
— bora
(slow) (@bora_twts) April 3, 2021
Similarly, with the other subsidiary labels, each agency will maintain its own independence and management, with support from HYBE’s overall management system.
The different labels under HYBE
In particular, it is important when it comes to the decision-making for the groups under the subsidiary labels.
While HYBE is the “parent company” and provides financial support, the stakeholders and those at the top of the company have no influence on the activities of the artists. When Bang Si Hyuk sold a large proportion of his shares, he ensured that BIGHIT MUSIC was separate so that others couldn’t make any decisions regarding the artists.
HYBE’s founder Bang Si Hyuk | Yonhap News
With the situation between SM Entertainment and HYBE still hot news and very uncertain, many netizens have shared their relief at Bang Si Hyuk’s previous decisions that ensure all the artists are safe and not impacted by what is going on.
You can read more from the video below.
SM Entertainment Releases Video Denouncing HYBE’s Takeover Of The Company, Vows To Protect SM As It Is
