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On September 15, 2024, HYBE was accused by netizens of alleged media play as Jungkook's real estate investment detail made waves. According to a report by Herald Economy on September 15, 2024, the value of the single-family house that BTS' Jungkook bought in Itaewon-dong, Seoul, has climbed by almost 10 billion won ($7.5 million) in less than 4 years. The property is currently under construction.
The BTS idol obtained an authorization to build from the district office in 2021 for a house with two underground floors and three above-ground floors, totaling 1,161.04㎡. The home was bought in cash for 39.59 million won ($29,783.71) for every 3.3㎡ of land. The total land area is 637㎡.
Titled as the "Korean Beverly Hills," the property is located 10 minutes from Itaewon Station and Noksapyeong Station on Subway Line 6. It is surrounded by embassies and other affluent residencies. The Euphoria singer paid 7.63 billion won ($5.74 million) in December 2020 for a single-family property in Itaewon-dong, according to Ahn Bu-dong Real Estate Brokerage.
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However, fans were displeased to see the BTS idol's real investment news hit the internet amidst the ongoing controversy of his alleged support towards NewJeans. Netizens claimed foul play on HYBE's part and mentioned that the timing of the news breakout could have been a part of HYBE's media play.
One netizen wrote on the Korean forum Instiz,
"Expected sequence"
On September 14, Jungkook posted on Instagram via his pet dog, Bam's account, breaking his silence on NewJeans' claims of mistreatment by ADOR. The BTS idol wrote in his Instagram captions, "Artists are not guilty," and "Don't use them" to allegedly address how young artists are being dragged in the feud between HYBE and former ADOR CEO, Min Hee-jin.
Several fans flooded X (formerly Twitter) and stated that no "smear campaign" could bring the BTS singer down.
"No smear campaign can touch him now. NONE! They can't bring a good man down!" one fan wrote.
"I know they're pissed cause they thought ppl would not support an artist standing in solidarity with other artists but it backfired so they resorted to these sewer tactics. As they often do," another fan wrote.
"First, an article comes out about his real estate investments. Next, company staff is caught bashing him on a subforum where you need to verify your work email to have posting privileges. Now, those comments are being quickly deleted. All he did was speak out for young artists," one other fan said.
Some netizens claimed that the entire situation has become so complicated that it has become difficult to trust anyone.
"It’s more of MHJ doing all this, ador is still Hybe, so those comments can be from that floor too, to stir up a narrative. He spoke for those girlies and called out mhj via his posts, her illusion really shattered," a netizen wrote.
"This whole situation is insane... they do not gaf what Jungkook had to say... Armies really think they know and understand more about Hybe than Jungkook does..." another netizen added.
"Like all this is just a really bad look, I don’t even know what’s going on anymore," one other netizen commented.
BTS' Jungkook becomes the person of interest in an alleged company media play
To add context, Jungkook's recent Instagram posts stirred online discussions as people tried to decipher the hidden meaning behind the captions. HYBE told Edaily on September 14, that Jungkook's posts were towards Min Hee-jin who is allegedly using NewJeans as her "shield."
However, NewJeans fans believed that Jungkook showed his support towards the rookie girl group. They speculated that HYBE must have been in the wrong for a BTS member to break his silence on the subject.
On September 15, reports of HYBE employees allegedly criticizing and badmouthing the BTS idol flooded social media. The employees left concerning comments on the HYBE anonymous employee app, BLIND. They called him "stubborn" and accused him of mistreating company staff. This alleged bad-mouthing of the artist angered fans, who demanded that the staff who commented be removed from the label.
In other news, BTS' Jungkook is serving in the military and will return in June 2025 to resume group activities.
