HYBE's weekly 'Industry evaluation report' has been at the center of much discussion in the entertainment industry lately due to its controversial remarks about industry idols, including artists part of HYBE and ones from other entertainment agencies.
On October 29, HYBE CEO Lee Jae Sang posted an apology on the company’s official website and stated, "As the CEO of HYBE, I sincerely apologize to the artists, industry colleagues, and fans regarding our monitoring document.”
He continued to refer to the evaluation report as a "monitoring report" and stated, "We fully acknowledge the fault in using provocative and overly critical language toward K-pop artists, allowing personal opinions and assessments of the document’s author to be included, and in retaining this content in a formal document."
Following the apology, it was also reported that the individual responsible for creating the so-called “HYBE internal report” containing provocative assessments of idol group members’ appearances has been removed from their position.
However, the apology sparked further commotion, with many interpreting the statement as deflecting blame rather than offering a sincere apology. Particularly, Seventeen fans took to social media to express their anger and pointed out that HYBE seemed to use scapegoating to handle the issue.
"I knew it, but they just keep scapegoating, pretending they’re not involved... I can’t even tell if that’s supposed to be an apology or just an excuse. The only thing I still want is for HYBE to go down, so I’ll keep taking action. And as for Pledis, this isn’t the time to evade responsibility by saying they were just ‘following the manual,’ don’t you think?"
"HYBE’s apology statement has been posted, but I’m tired of their subtle scapegoating and pretending like they’re not involved. I’ll keep taking action. Why keep going, you ask? Because I want to see HYBE go down~!!"
"The title itself is wrong. Not a 'monitoring document' — it’s a 'hate comment compilation document.'"
Other netizens are now expecting Seventeen fans to start a boycott due to the increasing disappointment and anger toward HYBE. Korean netizens are also expressing support for Seventeen fans as they believe that their fandom's reaction was proper and fitting.
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