On October 24, 2024, representatives from HYBE participated in an audit with the National Assembly. During this session, internal documents were revealed that not only pertained to HYBE’s own groups but also included remarks regarding groups from other companies.
These disclosures have sparked considerable backlash on social media. One particular document allegedly outlined HYBE’s strategies for orchestrating negative media narratives against groups from SM Entertainment, including aespa and RIIZE, as well as JYP Entertainment’s NMIXX. The document reportedly detailed plans to criticize aespa’s live performances at Coachella, circulate past photos of a RIIZE member, and accuse NMIXX of catering to feminist audiences.
The mentioned strategies for RIIZE have drawn significant attention, especially in light of the recent situation surrounding former member Seunghan. He chose to leave the group in October 2024 after a lengthy hiatus due to controversies regarding his pre-debut photos and personal life.
During the audit, a document titled “Music Industry Report” was released. A news article from the Korean outlet Sports Kyunghyang reported on the contents, indicating that the document contained plans for generating negative publicity about SM Entertainment’s groups.
Fans have speculated that the redacted names in the document relate to RIIZE, particularly Seunghan. Not only did Seunghan face scrutiny over his past photos, but fellow member Sohee has also been a target of similar attacks.
Social media reactions reflect the anger and disbelief among fans:
- “It’s unsettling to think they’ve been monitoring hate comments aimed at aespa and RIIZE all this time. This is just creepy.”
- “HYBE has been keeping SM under constant scrutiny. It all makes sense now; SM has faced a lot of criticism since HYBE’s rise.”
- “Why such hostility towards SM? It seems they’re trying to dominate the industry, which is unsettling.”
- “The leaks confirm that they were indeed discussing RIIZE and other SM groups.”
- “It’s shocking that their executive team engages in such tactics. Their inferiority complex towards SM is palpable.”
These revelations have raised serious questions about the ethics of competition in the K-pop industry and the lengths some companies might go to undermine their rivals.
