The former head of PR at BIGHIT MUSIC has spoken out about Bang Si Hyuk in response to Min Hee Jin's recent Hyundai Card lecture.
In a personal social media post, the former BIGHIT employee expressed support for the former ADOR CEO while heavily criticizing Bang Si Hyuk. They shared their experiences working closely with him, particularly during BTS’s early rise to fame in the U.S.
In their posts, the former employee highlighted various issues, including sympathizing with Min Hee Jin's struggles, like nearly having to sell her house, and claiming that the real winners in these legal battles are the law firms representing both sides. They also reflected on their exhausting days at BIGHIT, attributing much of the tension to Bang Si Hyuk’s personal greed and desire for recognition.
The former PR head also claimed they were instrumental in finding the American agency that represented BTS during their early U.S. promotions when supporting K-pop stars overseas was still considered risky. They criticized Big Hit/HYBE for lacking gratitude toward those who significantly helped elevate their artists, including the American agency and many foreign journalists, and noted that Bang Si Hyuk is showing a similar attitude toward Min Hee Jin.
The full passages read:
"After watching Min Hee Jin's lecture for Hyundai Card, I can't help but think that if she and I had met at Big Hit in the past, we would have worked well together. The phrase 'It’s important to have a reason why I have to do this work' struck a chord with me. It’s heartbreaking to hear about her possibly having to sell her house due to high legal fees. In the end, the ultimate winner of all these battles will likely be the law firms representing both sides. Still, I hope she sees this through to the end and wins. It’s wrong to use employees or talents and then discard them just because they’re no longer liked.
'Board members have to act like the tongue in my mouth.' This was the most humiliating thing I ever heard while working at Big Hit."
The former employee continued:
"Today, I caught up with some of the U.S. PR agency employees I worked with during BTS’s first U.S. debut. Even though they’re now at different companies, they remain great people. When other K-pop acts failed in the U.S., BTS was determined to enter, and I found the only agency that saw their potential. Thanks to them, BTS began appearing on U.S. TV and quickly succeeded, but once things took off, the agency was discarded for petty reasons.
Everyone kept asking me, 'What’s going on with HYBE these days? Why is it such a mess?' I just replied, 'I don’t know either.' I believe that those who are blinded by success and forget gratitude will eventually fail.
Winning Billboard awards and appearing on the Billboard charts were all thanks to the fans. The fans united and worked tirelessly, all for the sake of letting the members win an award. Appearing on American TV talk shows was made possible by leveraging the fan support and pitching to small local PR agencies, yet others take all the credit. It’s laughable.
When [Big Hit] needed promotion, they would email and ask for favors. But as soon as they got popular, they would cast aside journalists and writers who even slightly displeased them, pretending not to know them. This has always been the atmosphere at the company. The early rise of K-pop was largely due to a few people who actively wrote articles and did interviews overseas, but once the artists and companies became successful, they distanced themselves, claiming those journalists were being too close or bothersome. Many foreign journalists got burned by this attitude—specifically because of the owner’s style. This situation with Min Hee Jin feels similar."
Continuing with more personal reflections on Bang Si Hyuk and the ILLIT controversy, the posts read:
"There's no way he didn’t know ILLIT was too similar to NewJeans. They were always keen on comparing idol concepts and gathering information on competitors. Unable to create a girl group like NewJeans independently, they tried to mimic it, and when the response wasn’t bad, they thought they no longer needed an original producer. How can someone not change at all?
[Bang Si Hyuk] is smart, but lacks in looks and other areas, desperately seeking love from others while being overly self-absorbed since birth. He has a natural tendency to hurt people around him with his harsh words and feels superior. Though he can see the future, he can’t read the hearts of those in front of him. He inherently feels superior to those with lower academic backgrounds than him. He always wants to be the main character but hides his jealousy because he isn’t liked. He can recognize talent but expects that talent to always act like the tongue in his mouth. Among all the bosses I’ve served, he was the worst, and I still hate him."
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