HYBE Leaps into Major Corporate Status With $4 Billion Total Assets

HYBE, led by Chairman Bang Si Hyuk, has become the first entertainment company in South Korea to be designated as a large business group.

According to the 2024 Large Business Group Designation Status announced by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on May 15th, HYBE has been designated as a disclosure-targeted business group with total assets exceeding 5 trillion KRW (about $3.7 billion). The FTC designated and notified 88 disclosure groups, including HYBE, with total assets of more than 5 trillion KRW (as of the end of 2023).

As a result, HYBE has become the first entertainment company in South Korea to be designated as a large business group. It was reported that HYBE’s total assets last year reached 5.25 trillion KRW (about $4 billion).

With HYBE becoming a large corporation, Bang, the largest shareholder and founder of HYBE, has become a major corporate executive. He holds a 31.57% stake in HYBE.

The FTC explained the background of HYBE’s designation as a large business group, stating, “The entertainment industry, whose main sources of income are albums, performances, and content, has grown with the globalization of K-pop. This growth has been driven by the international success of BTS and others, reflecting the industry’s increased profitability from album sales, performances, and related content as they gain global attention.”

HYBE, launched in 2005 as Big Hit Entertainment, has grown into a global entertainment company along with the growth of BTS. It currently operates labels such as Source Music, Pledis, and KOZ Entertainment, and has artists such as Seventeen, LE SSERAFIM, Zico, and Ailee, in addition to BTS.