Bang Si Hyuk apologized to artists and fans for SM acquisition, “Kakao won? I didn’t view it as a competition”
Bang Si Hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, attended a training forum held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the morning of March 15th.
Bang Si Hyuk began his talk by saying, “Before talking about the acquisition of SM, I want to congratulate BoA on her successful 20th-anniversary concert last weekend. It is true that entertainment agencies have contributed greatly to bringing K-pop to this position nowadays. No one can also deny the fact that artists have led this entire industry”.
He confessed, “Even at the moment when the acquisition was viewed as a competition, the artists suffered a lot in their own positions and fans always supported their artists. Although there might have been a better acquisition for us, or Kakao, or the artists and fans, I don’t think we were able to protect the artists and fans in the process”.
The chairman also added, “I didn’t see this acquisition as a competition, but it still caused heartbreaking issues in terms of management. I’m so sorry about that. Our essence is the happiness of the artists and fans. I was very sad about the recent issue and couldn’t sleep well.”
Bang Si Hyuk continued, “Similarly, I find it difficult to agree with people who view this acquisition as a win-lose competition. Of course, from the perspective of the public, this can be something interesting. Although there may be a winner and a loser, we should not approach this acquisition with the intention of defeating or harming others. We only judged it based on future values and considered the situation as a listed company”.
He also drew laughter by adding, “Even when I’m saying this, many will still think that our company tried hard but lost the competition”.
He then continued, “I already said that we had a very long roadmap. We wanted to bring the traditional axis and fandom together in one place centering on IP and items, then gain importance in lifestyle with the platform”
“I’m personally satisfied with the result because we achieved it through a consultation with Kakao”, he concluded.
Source: Nate
