JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4

BY POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- To start the week, it was shared that Kakao is in the stages of planning a major overhaul of SM Entertainment — which the company acquired a major stake in during early 2023 — following an intensive audit into the company's finances and management. Following this investigation, several high-profile individuals — including former SM CEO Lee Seong-soo and current CEO Jang Cheo-hyuk — have been targeted for dismissal or discipline. It's been shared that the pair, who previously advocated for 'advanced management' and 'transparent governance' had reportedly engaged in opaque management practices and questionable investments without the consent of the label's parent company, which had led to their dismissal. Kakao further stated that, in addition to Lee & Jang, the company also plans to dismiss SM COO Tak Yeong-jun & CCO Park Jun-young while establishing new leadership in the company. What are your thoughts on this development?

#2- Former IZ*ONE member Honda Hitomi officially graduated from AKB48 following ten years with the Japanese girl group. She is one of several high-profile AKB48 members who have plans to graduate during the first few months of the year. We wish her our best, and hope to see her continue on within the entertainment industry in the future as well!



TUESDAY:
#1- Kakao came back with another update on Tuesday. The company stepped out to firmly deny rumours that they were considering selling SM Entertainment following earlier reports that they were exploring the sale of the company due to legal risks. This speculation stemmed from a controversy related to the stock price manipulation of SM Entertainment during the acquisition process. This controversy would eventually lead to HYBE pulling their bid for SM Entertainment and allowing Kakao to finalise their bid and acquire SM Entertainment. This controversy further led to the arrest of Bae Jae-hyun, the Investment Chief of Kakao & caused the South Korean financial regulator — the Financial Supervisory Service — to raid the offices of Kim Beom-su at Kakao's headquarters in Pangyo, just south of Seoul. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think the legal and financial difficulties will still lead to Kakao eventually relinquishing its major stake in the company?

#2- (G)I-DLE had some updates for us this week! Firstly, the group's label, Cube Entertainment has shared that Minnie and Yuqi will be rejoining the group following their temporary health hiatus. then on Friday, the group's leader Soyeon revealed that she had officially become the group's executive producer since the release of 'TOMBOY'. In addition to this, it was discovered that the group had partially funded the music video for their latest release, 'Super Lady'. The video had a budget of 1.1 billion KRW.



WEDNESDAY:
#1- Great news for fans of HIGHLIGHT. It's been revealed that the group will be returning with new music this Spring. Are you looking forward to new music from the group?

#2- We had some updates to contracts this week. On Wednesday it was shared that Jessi had mutually concluded with her label, MORE VISION, to terminate her exclusive contract with the agency. Then on Thursday, it was announced that Sistar's Soyou had left Big Planet Made (BPM Entertainment) following the expiration of her contract. We hope they parted ways on good terms and look forward to seeing them back in the public eye soon.



THURSDAY:
#1- KOMCA had some new member promotions this week! The organisation shared that BTS' Jungkook, SEVENTEEN's Vernon & (G)I-DLE's Soyeon had all been promoted to full members of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA). Congrats!



FRIDAY:
#1- It's been announced via SpoTV that BtoB's Im Hyunsik will be coming back with new music later this month. In addition to this, BtoB will also be returning as a full group next month in March. Are you looking forward to these upcoming releases?

#2- The 2024 ASEA (Asia Star Entertainment Awards) has announced the MCs for their upcoming awards show. SNSD's Yuri & 2PM's Taecyeon will be participating in the show as its hosts.



SATURDAY:
#1- ZB1's Kim Jiwoong has been facing some backlash following a fan call event where the idol reportedly swore to himself when he thought he had disconnected from the fan he was speaking to. The following day, the idols' agency, WAKEONE responded to the situation by stating that they had checked with Kim Jiwoong himself, who had outright denied the claims. In addition, the company also "checked with the employee and translator that were present at the scene." WAKEONE additionally declared that “For the sake of objective accuracy, WAKEONE will very clearly and definitively ascertain the truth by using various methods including digital media forensics, and we will protect our artist.” Do you think the reaction to this situation was justified? Or do you think creating a controversy related to swearing is a non-issue?



SUNDAY:
#1- From what looks like a seemingly annual thing at this rate, it's been reported that HYBE is looking into possibly acquiring SM Entertainment. This comes following earlier — now denied reports — that Kakao was looking into the possibility of selling off their stake in SM Entertainment. However — unlike their previous acquisition attempt — HYBE's chairman and founder, Bang Si-hyuk has chosen to privately approach various private equity funds to secure funding for this potential investment. Through this approach, the HYBE founder looks to be approaching the company with a more strategic mindset, especially when compared to the more aggressive and high-profile attempt that caused the company's previous acquisition attempt to fall through. In addition to HYBE, there have been a total of about eight to nine companies and individuals that have shown interest in acquiring SM from their parent company Kakao. These include the fashion company F&F — who recently expanded into the Entertainment industry through F&F Entertainment — as well as the video game developers NCSOFT. However, doubts still linger about the latter's financial capacity in regards to attaining, and successfully managing, a company as big as SM Entertainment. Two other high-profile parties have also shown their interest. The American conglomerate MGM, a subsidiary of Amazon.com and the co-producer of what would've been NCT Hollywood; and Lee Soo-man, the founder and former CEO of SM Entertainment who was unceremoniously booted from the label in 2023. It's been reported that the music mogul is looking into whether he can potentially reacquire the label following a court ruling in his favour to review the SM board meeting minutes and attached documents in order to possibly re-examine the ownership dispute. What are your thoughts on this situation? Do you think we'll see a third owner of SM in as little as a year, or do you think Kakao will continue forward as SM Entertainment's parent company for, at least, the foreseeable future?

#2- On Friday Oh My Girl's official Twitter (x.com) account was suspended from the platform for allegedly violating the operation policy after discovering the existence of an impersonation account. The was officially been restored by Sunday and the group's label, WM Entertainment officially apologised to fans who were affected by the situation. What are your thoughts on this issue? do you think social media platforms are too easy going with their suspension policies considering numerous official accounts — such as INFINITE's official Instagram — have also found themselves at risk of suspension in the past?

BY DRAGON OF THE WEST


#1- BTS' Proof has surpassed 14 billion streams on Spotify, making it the first album by a K-pop act to do so. It was also revealed that the group has surpassed 40 million sales on Circle Chart (formerly known as Gaon), once again being a feat achieved for the first time in K-pop. It wouldn't be a discussion about achievements without BTS being mentioned in one way or another!

#2- IU's pre-release single "Love Wins All" achieved a Perfect All-Kill (PAK) and as of the time of writing, it has since reached 141 PAK hours. She continues to prove the fact that she is indeed, THE digital monster in South Korea.

#3- (G)I-DLE's 2nd full-length album [2] has sold 1,537,083 copies in it's first week, making it the 5th highest first week sales among albums released by a girl group.

~ Thanks for reading