Is BTS the fifth largest shareholder of HYBE Labels? Explored

Recently, an X post claiming BTS as the fifth-largest shareholder of their agency, HYBE Labels, has been circulating on the internet. The claim suggested that BTS owes around 1.1% of the total shares owned by the agency. Additionally, it also stated that the members individually hold more shares in comparison to the CEOs of HYBE's subsidiaries.

However, this claim was soon debunked. According to the official figures released on HYBE's website, the company's five major shareholders are said to be Bang Si-hyuk (31.6%), Netmarble (12.1%), National Pension Service of Korea (8.2%), Dumanu Inc. (5.7%), and others who collectively attribute around 5.7% of the agency's shares.

According to the data from Bloomberg, a business and market news and data analyst company, the fifth-largest shareholder of HYBE is the CEO of HYBE America, Scooter Braun. Therefore, it is untrue that BTS is the fifth-largest shareholder of the company. However, BTS' Jungkook holds a spot among the top 10 shareholders of HYBE, around 0.16%, which roughly translates to 68,385 shares.

These shares and the shares of the other six members were also reported to have been initially gifted to the K-pop idols by HYBE Labels' founder, Bang Si-hyuk, in 2020. While it is true that BTS collectively held 1.1% at one point, it would continue to be feasible only if all the members retained their original shares. However, official filings reveal that some members sold parts of their stock.

Here are the members and the shares they sold, according to HYBE's 2021 stockholding changes report:

• Jin sold 16,000 shares
• RM sold 10,385 shares
• J-Hope sold 5,601 shares

Therefore, the data that claims 1.1% of HYBE Labels shares belongs to BTS could be potentially false. Therefore, both the claim that BTS is the fifth-largest shareholder and that they hold 1.1% of HYBE's shares would not stand true.

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All you need to know about BTS and members' current activities

BTS is a seven-piece K-pop boy group that debuted under BigHit Entertainment, now rebranded as HYBE Labels, in 2013. The rebranding took place in March 2021 when BigHit Entertainment aimed to expand into a global entertainment company. The members are now housed in the subsidiary, BigHit Music.

The members, Jin, Suga, j-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, are currently on a group hiatus due to their ongoing mandatory military service. Jin made his solo debut with a single release in October 2022 called The Astronaut, and enlisted in the military in December 2022. In June 2024, he was discharged and around November 2024, he released his first solo debut album, Happy.

j-hope made his debut in July 2022 with the release of his solo debut album, Jack In The Box, and enlisted in the military in April 2023. He was discharged in October 2024, and is set to roll out his solo world tour, HOPE ON THE STAGE, from February 28. He also released a single called LV BOX with Don Toliver on February 21 and is expected to roll out another single, Sweet Dreams, on March 7 with Miguel.

RM released two albums, Indigo in December 2022 and Right Place, Wrong Person, in May 2024. V also released his solo debut album, LayoVer, in September 2023, SUGA released his studio album, which also stands as the conclusion of his mixtape trilogy, D-Day, in April 2023. Jimin also released two albums, FACE in March 2023, and MUSE in July 2024.

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Jungkook made his solo debut with the release of his single, Seven feat. Latto, in July 2024, and followed it up with an album release called GOLDEN in November 2024. All the other five members, SUGA, RM, Jin, V, and Jimin, are currently enlisted in the military and are expected to be discharged in July 2025.