Looking back at the worst years of the Korean entertainment industry’s Big 3 companies

YG, SM, and JYP all have to go through an unforgettable periods

The companies of the Big 3 have all gone through a dark period with a series of scandals revolving around idols. In just 1 year, they met with many ups and downs. After that, these entertainment companies have had a hard time trying to recover and regain their position.

YG – 2019

In 2019, YG company was under heavy pressure because of a series of shocking scandals. Just entered the first day of 2019, Dispatch suddenly exposed the relationship between Jennie and Kai. At that time, the fans were displeased. Under heavy pressure, the couple broke up after 1 month. However, YG’s stock also dropped like a stone.

On Valentine’s Day, Yunhyeong (iKON) and Daisy (MOMOLAND) were caught up in dating rumors. While the MLD side confirmed the relationship between the two idols, YG denied it.

Also in 2019, a series of YG’s cult stars were entangled in scandals. Particularly, the Seungri case came under scrutiny, which resulted in significant losses for the company. Worth emphasizing that the audience boycott wave also had an impact on iKON and WINNER.

After that, B.I, Daesung, especially founder Yang Hyun Suk were exposed in turn, causing fierce controversy. After that, CL and Lee Hi also left the company right after the contract ended.

SM – 2020

2020 is probably an unforgettable year for SM Entertainment. On January 1, 2020, Heechul was reported by Market News to be dating Momo (TWICE). The couple with a 13-year age gap quickly stirred up social networks.

When the love story between Heechul and Momo has not yet subsided, on January 13, 2020, Chen (EXO) announced the news of his marriage to fans through a letter. Even more shocking, the male idol’s girlfriend is pregnant and is about to give birth to their first child. This news has created a huge wave of criticism toward the male idol in the EXO-L community.

The oldest member of Red Velvet, Irene, was also caught in an attitude scandal. In particular, a fashion editor and stylist accused Irene of scolding this person for 20 minutes, and threatened to make the recording public. The female idol quickly sent her apology to the fashion editor after the incident. Many netizens said that this is her way of indirectly admitting her mistake.

EXO Chanyeol was the next idol on the list and the story of his relationship controversy was quite well-known in the K-pop community. A person who claimed to be his ex-girlfriend accused him of playing the field and badmouthing other EXO members behind their backs.

Thought that the debut of aespa would calm the public’s anger towards multiple scandals, sadly, they couldn’t escape the faith. Karina was accused of disparaging EXO, NCT and BTS before her debut. People “dug” up mistakes of Giselle’s past. In particular, NingNing caused a huge controversy of collecting money from fans to tell them secrets about idols. However, none of these controversy was confirmed.

JYP – 2021

In February 2021, Hyunjin – the most prominent member of Stray Kids, was considered a “school bully”. Specifically, someone accused Hyunjin of chastising his classmates for a long time. At this time, the male idol apologized through a letter and arranged to meet each victim individually to sent his direct apoplogy. Still, the public is outraged.

By June 2021, Lia was in the spotlight of harsh public opinion. A person denounced a Gen 4 idol for having done bad actions, affecting the physics and mental health of her/his former classmates. Many people speculate that the idol in question is Lia of ITZY. JYP immediately sued the person who wrote the slanderous article and spread false rumors. Although the final conclusion has not been reached, the position of Lia in the public’s eyes gradually faded.