Hybe CEO stresses importance of localizing K-pop model for global growth

▲ HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang attends the International Youth Forum’s final conference at Hanyang University in Seoul on Oct. 27, 2025. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang emphasized the importance of localizing K-pop’s success model through a “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy to promote sustainable global growth at a forum, the agency said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the opening of the International Youth Forum’s final conference at Hanyang University in Seoul on Monday, Lee said, “HYBE’s goal is to globalize and localize K-pop’s core production system through our ‘multi-home, multi-genre’ strategy, which will help strengthen local music industries and create a sustainable cultural ecosystem.”

The strategy involves adopting K-pop’s unique production methods across different regions while fostering local artists who reflect their own cultural backgrounds.

HYBE currently operates local subsidiaries in Japan, the United States and Latin America, and recently established new entities in China and India.

Lee said the company aims to build a “cultural and economic virtuous cycle” in which HYBE’s growth supports local music markets, and their development in turn fuels HYBE’s continued expansion.

The International Youth Forum, co-hosted by the UN Research Institute for Social Development, brought together more than 400 participants, including 150 youth delegates from five continents, under the theme “Connecting for Change.”

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