Recently, BTS member Jimin was involved in dating rumors with actress Song Da Eun, after she shared videos of herself greeting the idol at the elevator door and seemingly walking together to her apartment. Although the actress has repeatedly denied the rumors, the timing of the videos’ release has become a topic of discussion, especially in light of the ongoing legal proceedings against HYBE Entertainment founder Bang Si Hyuk.
The leaked clips videos reignited discussionof BTS members’ contract renewals with their agency, HYBE. According to fans, HYBE has yet to reveal the members’ signing of the new contracts and has merely announced that the board of directors has decided to complete the renewals. One netizen commented, “HYBE’s announcement still doesn’t include any mention of the members who signed it. The information revealed so far is ‘The board’s decision on contract renewal has been completed.’ There’s only one phrase. Why is that?”
This has reignited speculation about how entertainment agencies manage their artists and whether they pressure them to serve their interests. Another fan wrote, “It seems that the dating rumors that surfaced today about the BTS members were intentional and not a simple mistake. This could even result in lawsuits over image rights, defamation, or compensation claims. Is this really the work of an independent individual?”
The comment brought up similar incidents involving BTS members V, RM, and Jungkook that coincided with the announcement of their 2023 contract renewals, raising suspicions that the agency was pressuring its artists to renew. The comment read, “For reference, there were dating rumors between the three members even before the press release about the 2023 contract renewal.”
Some fans went on to highlight the intense media coverage surrounding the dating rumors between Jimin and actress Song Da Eun, as well as media reports of private equity fund (PEF) fraud cases against Bang Si Hyuk. According to reports, special audit teams are currently investigating HYBE’s operations, with official authorities following up on documents related to the funds involved. It’s striking that there are more articles about Jimin’s dating rumors than these important corporate issues.
One netizen wrote, “This is possible because there are more articles about this ‘dating rumor’ than there are about the following: Bang Si-hyuk will definitely be summoned by the police this month (2 articles) Two special teams are reviewing HYBE (2 articles) Official authorities have begun investigating and securing documents related to the public investment fund in question (1 article, now deleted, followed by another)”
In response, many fans are demanding that the agency take legal action to protect their artist, who has been subjected to a blatant privacy violation.
