According to the disclosure on January 23rd, Yang Hyun Suk, YG’s overall producer, began buying the company’s stocks on January 18th, increasing his ownership stake from 16.8% to 19.3%.
A YG official said, “Through this recent stock purchase, Yang Hyun Suk expressed a firm commitment to enhancing shareholder value and the company’s growth in preparation for this year’s business plans.”
In December 2023, YG renewed its contract with BLACKPINK for group activities. The four members will pursue individual activities under different management.
Rookie girl group BABYMONSTER will release its second single on February 1st and its first mini-album on April 1st. TREASURE will begin preparations for a new song after concluding their large-scale Japan tour scheduled until early March. YG has announced plans to introduce another rookie besides BABYMONSTER within 2024.
A YG official emphasized, “Our goal for this year is to announce more than one rookie group through a global talent discovery and development project, not only domestically but also through overseas local auditions.”
Netizens have expressed negative reactions to the new of YG’s plan to debut another rookie, leaving comments such as:
- “Isn’t YG crazy? Focus on BAEMON and TREASURE first… GD and iKON have already left, Winner is on hiatus, and now they’re left with just three idol groups. BLACKPINK is focusing on their solo. The company is a mess”
- “Why doesn’t YG just open a restaurant? Expanding the canteen and getting into the restaurant business wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
- “I feel like YG is still stuck in the GD Heartbreaker era.”
- “YG can’t even manage TREASURE and BABYMONSTER properly. They can’t keep their promise for TREASURE to come back twice a year. Right after a 3-day concert in Korea, TREASURE went on a 3-month tour in Japan. BABYMONTSER has debuted, but there’s no music shows, albums, or fansigns. And with just one week until their comeback, there’s still nothing released. In this situation, they want to debut ‘more than one’ rookie group? They should really consider separating the headquarters and dividing the tasks. YG always releases articles before an idol’s comeback, but they never seem to keep their promises and always delay.”
- “YG seems really passionate about auditions, huh?”
- “YG has been lucky with the success of BIGBANG and BLACKPINK, but Yang Hyun Suk is too stubborn and still wants to stick to that formula.”
