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| ▲ This photo provided by Hybe shows the giant K-pop management's CEO Park Ji-won. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- Park Ji-won, CEO of HYBE, has tendered his resignation, as reported in the music industry on the 24th. It is known that Park recently conveyed his intention to step down to HYBE and has made a firm decision to leave.
Park Ji-won joined HYBE in May 2020, following his roles as CEO of Nexon Korea and Global COO of Nexon Japan. In 2021, a year after his move, he succeeded Bang Si-hyuk as CEO, overseeing HYBE’s management strategies and operations.
During Park’s tenure, HYBE achieved significant milestones. The company successfully went public on the KOSPI in October 2020. In 2021, HYBE expanded its portfolio by acquiring Ithaca Holdings, which represents global pop stars like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Last year, HYBE further expanded its business beyond K-pop by acquiring QC Media Holdings, a prominent U.S. hip-hop label, and Exile Music, a Latin music company.
Under Park's leadership, HYBE intensified its focus on the "multi-label" system, centered around its key intellectual property, BTS. As a result, HYBE became the first Korean entertainment agency to surpass 1 trillion KRW in annual revenue in 2022, achieving 2 trillion KRW in revenue the following year.
Despite these accomplishments, Park’s sudden resignation is believed to be linked to recent internal conflicts with Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, which has unsettled the company. Earlier this year, a severe dispute between HYBE and Min Hee-jin led to the public release of explicit KakaoTalk messages between Bang Si-hyuk, Park Ji-won, and Min Hee-jin, damaging HYBE's corporate image among K-pop fans.
HYBE managed to replace ADOR's board members with its own personnel, but failed to remove Min Hee-jin due to a court injunction, resulting in an ongoing uneasy coexistence. Industry insiders speculate that the "ADOR incident" moving from intense internal strife to a legal standoff presents HYBE with an opportunity to seek a new leader, refresh its internal atmosphere, and prepare for future growth and success.
HYBE has stated that no decision has been made regarding the acceptance of Park’s resignation.
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