News Summary:
- Park Ji-won, CEO of HYBE, resigned after 4 years.
- He oversaw HYBE’s successful IPO, multi-label transition, and growth of groups like BTS.
- His tenure also faced challenges like the failed SM Ent. acquisition and Min Hee-jin controversy.
- HYBE will choose a new CEO and finalize succession plans.
Park Ji-won, the CEO of HYBE, has abruptly resigned. This comes just four years after he left Nexon to join HYBE. During his tenure, he is credited with leading HYBE’s successful IPO and contributing to the company’s restructuring into a multi-label system.
According to investment industry sources on the 24th, CEO Park Ji-won has decided to resign and leave the company. A related source said, “It is understood that CEO Park recently shared his plans for the future after completing work on attracting external investment for one of HYBE’s subsidiaries.”
Who is Park Ji-won, CEO of HYBE?
Park is a well-known figure in the industry, having served as CEO of Nexon Korea since 2014. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he assisted Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju and led major M&A projects. He was considered one of the most trusted people by Founder Kim, especially in non-development sectors. After serving as Nexon’s global COO since 2018, he left Nexon in 2020.
Park joined HYBE in May 2020, when the company was still known as Big Hit Entertainment. As CEO of Big Hit HQ, he oversaw the company’s IPO, name change, and restructuring into a multi-label system. He is credited with improving the company’s corporate culture and restructuring its business structure to match its growth from a startup agency into a large entertainment company.
During his tenure, HYBE experienced remarkable growth, with BTS’s global market dominance and the rise of new groups such as NewJeans, Le Sserafim, and Enhypen. However, there were also a number of challenges, such as the failed attempt to acquire SM Entertainment and the controversy surrounding Min Hee-jin.
Park and HYBE had initially agreed to team up with SM Entertainment CEO Lee Soo-man to acquire the company, but Kakao entered the bidding war and thwarted their plans. In the process, Kakao was accused of manipulating the stock price in an attempt to interfere with HYBE’s public takeover. This led to the recent arrest of Kakao founder Kim Beom-su.
There was also controversy over allegations of breach of trust (or betrayal of HYBE, the parent company) by ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, which led to an escalation of hostilities between HYBE and Min.
While Park and HYBE have denied the reports, it is known that HYBE will soon finalize the selection of a successor and other details.
Source of news: MTN
