Big shake-up at HYBE: Park Ji-won resigns; new CEO revealed!
What's the story
South Korean entertainment company HYBE is set to experience a change in leadership after its current CEO, Park Ji-won confirmed his decision to step down. On Tuesday, Park addressed HYBE employees in a letter, announcing a town hall meeting scheduled for "next Tuesday" to discuss the company's mid-to-long-term growth strategy, "HYBE 2.0." Acknowledging the media speculation about his resignation, he stated, "I thought it was inappropriate to leave you (employees) in confusion."
Statement
Park confirmed his resignation and announced a new CEO
In his address, Park emphasized HYBE's significant growth over the past three years and mentioned that the executive team has been planning for the next five years, focusing on sustaining this growth. He noted, "We believe new leadership is necessary to drive the changes required for HYBE 2.0," confirming his resignation. He also shared that current HYBE CSO Lee Jae-sang will lead HYBE 2.0 as the new CEO, while Park will continue as an employee of the company.
CEO profile
Park's tenure and achievements at HYBE
Earlier, an insider revealed, "Park shared his position that he'd like to retire after recently completing his project to attract outside investment for one of HYBE's affiliates." Notably, Park joined HYBE in 2020 and assumed the role of CEO in 2021. Before this, he was recognized for his leadership as the CEO of Nexon Korea—a video game company. During his time at HYBE, Park established a multi-label system and played a significant role in supporting the success of affiliated artists.
HYBE-ADOR feud
Controversy and apology during Park's leadership
Park's tenure at HYBE was marked by controversy—including a public feud with ADOR. This conflict arose after HYBE initiated an audit of ADOR following attempts by the latter to become independent. Amid this, Park expressed regret for causing concerns among fans, artists, and personnel. He stated, "I am apologetic for causing concerns to fans, artists, and personnel [of the labels] for what happened in the process of upgrading the multi-label [system]."