According to the Financial Supervisory Service on August 15th, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk received a bonus of 982 million won in the first half of this year, making him on the list of high-salary employees in the company (those who earn more than 500 million won). This contrasts sharply with the company’s announcement earlier in March that Chairman Bang’s salary was set at 1 won.
Regarding Chairman Bang’s salary of 1 won, HYBE explained, “As a Chairman, the basic salary was set in this way to strengthen responsible management and emphasize the message of HYBE’s ‘Pay for Performance’ strategy”. Of course, Bang Si-hyuk did not get any monthly salary in the first half of the year. Instead, he received nearly 1 billion won in bonuses for his performance and capabilities in managing the company.
However, Chairman Bang is currently one of the reasons why HYBE’s stock price dropped recently. On the 14th, HYBE closed at 163,100 won, a decrease of 4.56% from the previous day on KOSPI, marking the fourth consecutive decline. The last time HYBE’s stock price touched the 160,000 won level was on January 2nd last year.
Despite recording the highest quarterly revenue in the second quarter of this year, HYBE’s operating profit plunged 37.4% due to the failure of the gaming business and sluggish concert sales. The company’s performance in the first half was even more disappointing.
Various risks also played an important role in the stock price decline. Aside from HYBE’s dispute with ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, BTS member Suga also sparked controversy over his drunk driving issue. The incident is so serious that Suga will also be summoned by the police, turning on a red light on the plan for BTS’s group activities in 2025.
The focus here is the owner’s risk caused by Chairman Bang’s recent scandal. On August 8th, the HYBE Chairman was spotted in LA with AfreecaTV BJ Juice Seyeon. Despite HYBE’s explanation that it was an “accidental meeting” and the purpose of a restaurant recommendation, the image of HYBE was affected significantly due to rumors.
As a result, the impact of the owner’s risk was greater than expected. HYBE’s stock began to fall significantly. Since the 8th, the decline has reached 11.3%, making 862.2 billion won in market capitalization over the past four days. Without a solution, the situation would not be bright.
Another risk is the unresolved conflict with ADOR, which has achieved significant success as a label despite having no other artist besides NewJeans. However, some in the securities industry advise taking a long-term view. There is an opinion that there is room for a rebound in stock prices due to expectations for the activities and performances of other artists in the future.
Stock researcher Kim Min-young maintained a “Buy” investment opinion, raising expectations for the growth of rookie groups and the continuous upward trend of senior IPs.
Source: Daum
