Ok-pop is within the midst of its largest international second but, however because the business scales new heights, questions are rising about whether or not its enterprise practices and moral requirements are maintaining tempo. A latest courtroom ruling in South Korea has introduced this challenge into sharp focus.
On July 22, 2025, the Seoul Southern District Courtroom discovered three former staff of HYBE’s affiliate labels, Supply Music, BigHit Music and Belift Lab, responsible of insider buying and selling. Prosecutors revealed that the staff bought HYBE inventory utilizing undisclosed details about BTS’s forthcoming army enlistment, a transfer that violated South Korea’s Capital Markets Act.
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The case facilities on HYBE’s dramatic inventory plunge on June 14, 2022, the day BTS introduced by way of their official YouTube channel that they might pause group actions to meet South Korea’s obligatory army service necessities. The information despatched HYBE’s shares tumbling practically 25% in a single day, erasing roughly 1.5 trillion KRW (about $1.5 billion) in market worth. In accordance with prosecutors, the three staff, who had been nonetheless on workers at HYBE’s subsidiary labels on the time, had entry to inside reviews in regards to the announcement earlier than it went public. They allegedly bought their shares upfront to sidestep
the looming monetary hit.
In consequence, the courtroom handed down suspended jail sentences to all three former staff. A former Supply Music staffer (recognized as “A”) acquired a 10-month jail time period, suspended for 2 years, together with a high quality of roughly 231 million KRW (round $168,000 USD). The opposite two, who beforehand labored at BigHit Music and Belift Lab (“B” and “C”), had been every sentenced to 6 months in jail, additionally suspended for 2 years and fined 51 million KRW (about $37,000 USD) and 65 million KRW (about $48,000 USD). As well as, all three had been ordered to forfeit the complete quantity that they had profited by avoiding inventory losses.
In its ruling, the courtroom acknowledged, “An artist’s exercise schedule is very confidential info that instantly impacts an leisure firm’s income. Utilizing that info for private achieve is a severe offense that undermines market integrity and deserves public condemnation.”
In accordance with a report by Music Business Worldwide, HYBE’s U.S. PR company Tag PR initially acknowledged on July 24 that “the people in query aren’t staff of HYBE.” Nonetheless, on July 25, HYBE’s international communications workforce in Seoul clarified to MBW that every one three people had been certainly former staff of HYBE’s affiliate labels. The corporate added that “they’ve all already left their positions” and that “Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has no private ties to them.”
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Even because the insider buying and selling scandal was nonetheless making headlines, HYBE was hit with one other main controversy. On July 29, the Seoul Regional Tax Workplace’s 4th Bureau of Investigation launched a tax audit into the corporate’s headquarters. The probe is reportedly analyzing allegations that HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk used a personal fund he managed to acquire shares earlier than the corporate’s 2019 IPO, later securing vital income as soon as the inventory went public.
With three former staff lately convicted of insider buying and selling, public scrutiny has now shifted towards Bang himself, as each instances contain questions surrounding HYBE’s IPO and the dealing with of delicate monetary info. The outcomes of this investigation and any ensuing authorized motion are anticipated to attract intense consideration from the worldwide music and enterprise industries alike.
Regardless of the continued controversies surrounding HYBE, BTS continues to interrupt data on the worldwide music stage. In accordance with Billboard’s chart story printed on July 28, the group’s first official stay album, PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE – LIVE, debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Aug. 2. This milestone marks BTS’s sixteenth album to seem on the Billboard 200, with eight of these releases touchdown within the high 10, essentially the most for any Korean act.
In the meantime, the members’ solo careers are thriving. Jin, recent from his army discharge, has kicked off his first solo fan live performance world tour, the Run Seokjin Tour (#RUNSEOKJIN_EP. TOUR), which incorporates 18 reveals throughout 9 cities. Earlier this 12 months, J-Hope wrapped up his debut solo world tour, performing 31 reveals in 15 cities, and he’s set to headline Lollapalooza Berlin this August.
As Ok-pop’s international highlight burns brighter than ever, the cracks beneath the floor have gotten more durable to disregard. For the business’s hard-won achievements to endure, its methods and moral requirements should evolve simply as shortly as its cultural affect. If Ok-pop goals to maintain its place as a worldwide powerhouse, it faces a defining query: As Ok-pop continues to develop, is it really taking root in trustworthy floor?