“Ridiculous to oppose it now” — Internet reacts as Weverse Magazine clarifies HYBE's internal document authorship, citing ex-editor as sole writer

On November 9, 2024, Weverse Magazine issued an official statement on their platform claiming that only the editor-in-chief was involved in creating the controversial HYBE internal report titled, "Industry Trends Report." The contentious internal report allegedly included derogatory comments about artists from rival agencies. Stray Kids, BLACKPINK, EXO, and NCT, were some of the groups mentioned in it.

The report allegedly criticized K-pop idols' looks and labeled some of them as "surprisingly unattractive" or "overly reliant on cosmetic enhancements." It also claimed that BLACKPINK's Lisa lost her popularity due to her Crazy Horse show in September 2023 and EXO's Baekhyun allegedly tried to imitate BTS' Jungkook's livestream methods.

Meanwhile, on November 9, the HYBE subsidiary's apology emphasized that the company's former editor-in-chief wrote the 18,000-page document and that no other current Weverse Magazine employees were involved.

"We deeply apologize to those who cherish Weverse Magazine for any inconvenience and concern caused by the monitoring document. I would like to state some clear facts regarding this matter."

They continued:

"This document was produced as a separate task by the former editor-in-chief, and members of Weverse Magazine were unaware of its existence. Excluding the former editor-in-chief, no members or external contributors involved in the production of Weverse Magazine have participated in writing the monitoring document."

The statement went viral on the Korean online forum, Instiz, where netizens criticized the company and its parent corporation, HYBE, for avoiding accountability. One netizen wrote on Instiz:

"Weverse Magazine has nothing to do with the controversial monitoring document, and Weverse Magazine members clearly state their opposition to the document. LOL It's ridiculous to oppose it now?"

Netizen reacted to HYBE's internal document's authorship. (Image via Instiz)

Internet users lashed out at the HYBE subsidiary for pinning the blame on the former editor-in-chief—who was reportedly fired from his role on October 29 and shifted to the human resources team.

"I remember getting a message from Weverse that Min Heejin, in agreement with Hybe, stepped down as CEO but will remain as director. We all know that was a lie. I will never trust anything Wevers says again. There is no way to separate Hybe and Weverse." an X user wrote.

"It’s concerning that Weverse Magazine’s team claims they had no knowledge of a document compiled by their own editor-in-chief until it became a public issue.This points to either a serious lack of oversight or an attempt to shift all blame onto a person to protect broader team," another user wrote.

"They sound ridiculous atp," another user added.

Several X users called HYBE "shameless" for allegedly avoiding apologizing to the K-pop groups and their respective agencies for the controversial remarks.

"We all have already seen emails and recipients of that weekly reports. All executives were involved. Shameless cowards can't even admit their guilt," one X user remarked.

"They just throw all their mistakes to that shameless person to show that they don't need to apologize," another user commented.

"Now Hybe is dragging one person out to take all the responsibility? And has Hybe apologized to each idol that Hybe said bad things about?" another X user wrote.

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"I bow my head and apologize" — HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang apologized publically for the internal report created by Weverse Magazine's head

During a National Assembly audit on October 24, it was discovered that the internal report had been distributed to HYBE's higher-level executives including the subsidiary heads. The Korea Herald reported that HYBE Chairman and founder, Bang Si-hyuk was also one of the heads who received the report details.

On October 29, Lee Jae-sang, the CEO of HYBE, released a formal apology for the improper content of the report on HYBE's official website. He said:

"I bow my head and apologize to artists, industry insiders, and fans regarding the monitoring document pointed out during the National Assembly Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee’s state audit on Oct 24. The document was created in the process of collecting various responses and public opinions on industry trends and issues."

Lee Jae-sang continued:

"It was shared with only some leaders for the purpose of understanding the market and fan opinions, but the content of the document was very inappropriate."

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Currently, several K-pop fandoms have started the "Boycott HYBE" movement amidst the ongoing internal report controversy.

SEVENTEEN's Seungkwan shared a post on his Instagram, emphasizing that "idols aren't items." This further amplified the public backlash against HYBE Corporation for allegedly vilifying K-pop idols.