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On Tuesday, October 29, 2024, Daily Sports reported that HYBE fired the executive who was in charge of creating the controversial internal report. The document was revealed at the National Assembly Audit on October 24 by Democratic Party of Korea representative, Min Hyun-bae. The document reportedly contained 18,000 pages of which only 2,000 were shown during the audit.
Since the audit, HYBE—which is home to K-pop groups like BTS, SEVENTEEN, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, Enhypen, TXT, fromis_9, and more—got embroiled in several controversies. The document reportedly contained derogatory comments against Stray Kids members' looks and height, NCT's Haechan, IVE, NMIXX, downplayed BLACKPINK's success, and more.
Furthermore, the document also contained references to how HYBE let BTS' Jimin and Jungkook's fanbases lock horns on DC Gallery. Allegedly, a segment of the internal report also showed that HYBE retrieved information from the notorious YouTube channel, Taldeok Camp, operated by Sojang.
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"We are not your items" — SEVENTEEN's Seungkwan shares an Instagram post allegedly calling out HYBE
On October 29, 2024, SEVENTEEN's Seungkwan left a long post on his Instagram account regarding the ongoing controversies. The popular K-pop band is under Pledis Entertainment, which is a HYBE subsidiary.
Seungkwan stated that he couldn't stay silent amidst the swirling scandal where his band members, fans, and other artists were getting hurt.
As per Google Translate, he wrote:
"Watching the many things that have happened so far I have been trying to calm my mind and work hard with the members as I always have But now I can no longer just watch these situations And hope that the fire will go out For my people who are hurt, my fans and my members And all my colleagues who are working hard even at this moment I feel that I can no longer remain silent."
Seungkwan highlighted that his band members and other idol friends have been working diligently to give their best to their fans and the industry. Adding a cautionary statement, Seungkwan mentioned that the artists aren't just "items" to be used and treated to fit into people's narratives.
He further wrote in his post:
"Including our members, at least the colleagues and friends I know who are working hard together in the big industry called K-pop are people who genuinely and purely love this work. They are so sincere that they get hurt...I want to make this clear. They are not people who have been active so smoothly and smoothly that they can easily go up and down and be judged by you."
Seungkwan continued:
"I hope you don't take idols lightly. They don't deserve to be easily included in our story. Not only for us, but also for other artists, We are not your items. I hope you don't think that you can use and enjoy them as you please."
In other news, SEVENTEEN's Jeonghan enlisted in the military for mandatory service on September 26, 2024. The band dropped their 12th mini-album, SPILL THE FEELS, on October 14.
