Weverse Magazine has issued a public apology and distanced itself from a controversial internal HYBE report that contained disparaging remarks about artists from other agencies. In this apology, it was stressed that the report, which caused significant upheaval within the K-Pop industry, was authored by the former editor-in-chief of Weverse Magazine, and that no one else currently in the organization was involved.
In the apology and statement released on November 9, the Weverse Magazine team clarified that its staff were unaware of the report's existence and that the former editor-in-chief was solely responsible for its creation. They emphasized that no other staff members or external contributors were involved in the report's production.
The statement further confirmed that the former editor-in-chief has been removed from their position and is no longer involved in any Weverse Magazine activities. They also stated their clear opposition to the content of the controversial report.
The controversy surrounding the HYBE report emerged during a National Assembly audit on October 24, where it was revealed that the report was circulated among HYBE executives. Following intense criticism, HYBE CEO Park Ji Won issued a formal apology, acknowledging the inappropriate and offensive nature of the document.
Weverse Magazine reiterated its commitment to providing high-quality content to its readers and expressed regret for any inconvenience caused by the controversy.
The full statement reads:
"This is the Weverse Magazine team.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern caused to those of you who cherish Weverse Magazine due to the situation that arose from the monitoring document.
We would like to clarify a few facts regarding this matter:
- The document in question was created by the former editor-in-chief for a separate task, and the Weverse Magazine team members were not aware of its existence.
- Except for the former editor-in-chief, no Weverse Magazine team members or external writers were involved in creating the monitoring document.
- The former editor-in-chief was removed from their position and simultaneously barred from any involvement with Weverse Magazine. The personnel separately requested by the former editor-in-chief for monitoring tasks have also ceased their work.
Weverse Magazine is unrelated to the controversial monitoring document, and the Weverse Magazine team clearly expresses its opposition to the document.
Nevertheless, we apologize once again for being mentioned in this unfortunate incident and for causing inconvenience.
Weverse Magazine promises to reward our readers with more profound and richer content in the future.
-The Weverse Magazine Team"
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