When you talk about the meteoric rise of Big Hit Entertainment into the HYBE empire, the spotlight almost always falls on one man: Bang Si Hyuk. Despite all the stock scandal and IPO controversy around this HYBE chairman, Bang Si Hyuk is still the legend, the father of not just BTS but also modern-day K-pop.
But here’s something you might not know. Bang Si Hyuk was never alone. There were geniuses standing beside him: producers, managers, creative directors — the hidden names that shape this HYBE empire, and some of them are women. Now imagine learning that some of those very women, the ones who helped build one of the most powerful entertainment empires in Korea, were pushed out right before the biggest payday in company history.
That’s the emotional weight behind the current controversy happening around HYBE, especially with the ongoing investigation against Bang Si Hyuk.
HYBE Stock Scandal and IPO Controversy: What Happened
Both Bang Si Hyuk investigation and the massive stock scandal controversy begin when HYBE was preparing for its 2020 IPO. This was the company that has successfully transformed from a mid-sized agency, Big Hit Entertainment, into a financial powerhouse now famous as HYBE.
At the time, male executives and outside investors received stock options that turned into life-changing wealth once the company went public. Female executives, however, tell a different story.
Some, like Choi Yoo Jung, a co-founder who shaped the label’s early growth, sold her shares before the IPO and later said that the company had kept her completely in the dark about the listing.
“There was absolutely no talk about the IPO.”
Choi Yoo Jung, former Vice President of Big Hit Entertainment.
Others, like Elly Chae Eun, who drove HYBE’s U.S. expansion, recall that the same company had pressured her to resign before she ever had the chance to exercise her stock options.
“They promised to give stock options, but before I could exercise those rights, they created all sorts of excuses and forced people out. I guess there are quite a few people like me.
Even after I left, I heard that many employees were pushed out in a similar way, through personnel committee meetings that manufactured issues without any real evidence.
This is truly a bad company.”
Elly Chae Eun, former Big Hit employee.
Even Min Hee Jin, who briefly joined HYBE and debuted NewJeans after leaving SM Entertainment, recalled that Bang Si Hyuk told her directly there were “no IPO plans” and advised cash incentives over shares. Later, she was restricted by a non-compete agreement that left her with neither stock options nor freedom.
“In January 2019, when I met Chairman Bang in person to negotiate my salary contract, he told me, ‘There are no plans to go public,’ and suggested, ‘Cash is better than stock for incentives. Let’s replace it (stock options) with a signing bonus.”
Min Hee Jin, former ADOR CEO and NewJeans producer.
As the timeline unravels, fans now see a disturbing picture: women were promised shares, pressured out, or told they didn’t exist — all while male executives and private equity firms profited massively after the IPO.
The Gender Ceiling in K-pop’s Power Structure
As longtime K-pop fans, you have been experienced well in fighting for gender inequality on stage — the way girl groups are treated differently from boy groups, or the double standards around dating scandals. But the HYBE scandal highlights a less visible truth: even at the executive level, women are often excluded from real power.
When netizens looked back at the IPO documents, they found a pattern. The men cashed out massive number of profits, but the women were erased. The empire grew on the skills and networks of these talented women, yet the rewards went elsewhere.
This resonates because—really—you must have realized that it’s not just about corporate politics. This money game actually mirrors the glass ceilings you see in K-pop. Female idols are scrutinized for their bodies and dating lives, while female staff often do the invisible labor but rarely make it into the credits. It’s just everywhere!
Fans and Corporate Trust: A Fragile Bond
Moreover, there is actually another angle you might have never expected: your role as fans.
Remember the HYBE IPO hype back then? You might be one of those excited supporters who streamed harder, bought more albums, and saw HYBE’s success as part of supporting the artists you love. After all, back then you believed that when you supported the company’s growth, it means you were also supporting the growth of your biases.
Now, the 2025 HYBE scandal and IPO controversy investigation forces you to ask the harsh question: if the women who helped run the company were pushed aside, what does that say about you—the fans? All the late-night efforts, your passion, and loyalty? How do they treat you—especially knowing that the whole K-pop fandom is predominantly…female?
Was the same mindset that forced out these female executives also seeing you—the fans—as just another resource to use?
It’s not easy to think about, but that’s why this case feels different. Because as the HYBE stock scandal and IPO controversy reaches this point, it’s no longer about money. Instead, it’s more about a broken trust — the very trust that connects fans, artists, and the companies behind them.
A Pattern You Might Recognize Too Well
The more you look, the more it feels familiar. Pressure to resign. Silenced voices. Promises broken.
Haven’t we seen this in other parts of K-pop too? Idols are often pressured to end contracts or groups under the label of “voluntary” decisions — just think of Kim Garam from LE SSERAFIM, or the massive disbandment controversy of GFRIEND. Were these cases truly “voluntary”?
Staff and creative leads, like the above case of Choi Yoo Jung, the production manager behind BTS’s early albums and former Big Hit Vice President, shaped entire eras but quietly disappeared from credit once the company rose.
And now, even high-level executives such as Chae Eun, who led HYBE’s U.S. expansion, and Min Hee Jin, former CEO of HYBE’s ADOR and NewJeans’ producer, eventually speak out on how the company pushed them out just before it went public after all those sweet promises.
Different positions, same pattern. The industry knows how to control narratives, erase dissent, and move forward without accountability. Fans notice, even if companies hope they won’t.
HYBE Stock Scandal and IPO Controversy: What It Really Means
When you scroll past another headline about the investigation involving Bang Si Hyuk or HYBE IPO scandal controversy, it might feel distant, like business news.
But if you look closer, you start to recognize patterns you already know from K-pop. Power flows to a few and shuts others out. Companies lift some voices while silencing the rest. They demand loyalty, yet give little back in return.
So, no. This isn’t just about stocks or corporate legal issues for you. This HYBE IPO scandal and controversy is about fairness, recognition, and trust. It’s about the women who built part of the empire being denied their place in its legacy.
That’s why, when you come across HYBE in the news, it’s worth pausing for a moment. What kind of industry do we hope to support? One that remembers the people who worked hard behind the scenes, or one that leaves them out when it matters most?
Finally, what do you think? Has the HYBE stock scandal and IPO controversy changed how you view the industry? Share your thoughts with us.
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