On February 20th, Bang Si Hyuk, the Chairman of HYBE, made an unexpected appearance with a significantly slimmer figure, drawing attention at the 64th Annual General Meeting of the Korea Economic Leaders Association (KELA) held at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

This meeting, attended by prominent figures from Korea's business sector, marked Bang's first participation. 

On this occasion, Bang, dressed in a neat black suit, took the stage alongside representatives of new member companies, including Lee Seok Woo, CEO of Dunamu, for a commemorative photo.

What particularly caught the eye was Bang's transformation. His figure, noticeably slimmer compared to previous public appearances, made headlines. 

When he was spotted in California last August with Professor Andrew Ng of Stanford University, speculation about his diet journey began, especially after a photo showing his leaner physique circulated in the media. Some even raised questions about photo editing, but on this day, Bang's actual appearance confirmed the successful weight loss.

HYBE, along with 46 other companies, including KT, Kakao, Naver, Dunamu, MegazoneCloud, Korea IBM, Oasis, SK Hynix, POSCO, Korea Zinc, Korea Investment Holdings, HS Hyosung, and Jin Air, joined the Korea Economic Leaders Association.

The business world anticipates that with the addition of HYBE and Dunamu—following Naver and Kakao—the KELA’s leadership structure, traditionally centered around manufacturing, may change shortly.

SEE ALSO: SUV matching missing Korean women's vehicle found near fatal I-40 accident in Arizona