Behind the HYBE Scandal: CEO Park Ji Won Speaks Out

HYBE CEO Park Ji Won has spoken about the controversy surrounding Min Hee Jin, CEO of ADOR, who produced the girl group NewJeans. The plagiarism issue previously raised by Min is expected to cause a stir.

On the 23rd, Park Ji Won, CEO of HYBE, sent an internal announcement email to HYBE members, saying, “There has been a lot of news surrounding our company recently. I believe our members, who take pride in being part of a leading entertainment company, must feel quite confused.”

CEO Park said, “The matter of company takeover has become clear, and we have initiated an audit to verify and rectify this. The responsible parties refuse to respond properly to the company’s legitimate audit. We have realized that the issues currently being discussed were planned and were unrelated to ILLIT’s debut. The company will take appropriate action after further verification through this audit.”

The previous night, CEO Min Hee Jin refuted claims of an attempted takeover, arguing it was HYBE’s media play.

Furthermore, CEO Min Hee Jin raised an issue with HYBE, claiming that under another HYBE label, the girl group ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ concept. This led her to release a statement containing allegations that an angered HYBE is attempting to fire her in retaliation.

CEO Park reassured his employees, saying, “Please do not be anxious and focus on doing your best for NewJeans’ comeback and growth. HYBE prioritizes the protection of our artists and members. I ask everyone involved to make special efforts to ensure this incident does not shake the artists.”

He concluded, “We will continuously contemplate and improve on how to finalize this issue and what needs to be enhanced for the advancement of our multi-label and the growth and development of NewJeans and ILLIT.”

The calm demeanor of CEO Park Ji Won has brought attention to his background.

CEO Park Ji Won is a former executive of the domestic game company Nexon.

After graduating from Yonsei University’s Department of Political Diplomacy, he started his career at Nexon in 2003 as an entry-level employee. By 2009, he rose to the head of Nexon Japan’s business planning office. In the subsequent year, he was elevated to the head of Nexon Japan’s operations and registered director, a pivotal department within the Nexon Group. Following his oversight of Nexon Korea’s global business, he assumed the CEO role of Nexon Korea in 2014.

In 2019, after 16 years at Nexon, CEO Park caught the eye of Chairman Bang Si Hyuk and joined Big Hit Entertainment.

At Big Hit, he served as the CEO of the headquarters (HQ), where he demonstrated his unique management philosophy for the overall entertainment business, including record production.

In March 2021, after Big Hit Entertainment changed its name to HYBE, he stepped forward as a professional executive.

True to his gaming background, he organized a development organization, HYBE IM, and is expanding the game industry using HYBE’s intellectual property (IP), including BTS and Seventeen.

In an interview, Chairman Bang Si Hyuk stated, “If it weren’t for Park Ji Won, we wouldn’t have started the gaming business,” showing his trust in CEO Park’s business expansion and management.

According to the recently released HYBE business report, CEO Park received a salary of 910 million won ($763,000) and a bonus of 600 million won ($503,000) last year, totaling 1.52 billion won ($1.27 million).