HYBE becomes the first entertainment company to be labeled as a conglomerate by Korea's FTC

HYBE is now registered as a conglomerate by Korea's FTC and has become the first entertainment company to do so.

According to industry sources, on April 8, The Fair Trade Commission determined that the fair market value of HYBE assets, at over 5 trillion KRW (3.7 Billion USD), meets the criteria for designation as a publicly disclosed business conglomerate. HYBE's total assets disclosed last year on a consolidated basis were 5.35 trillion KRW (3.9 billion USD). The official designation as a conglomerate will be confirmed on May 1.

It is the first time that an entertainment company has been designated as a large enterprise conglomerate. HYBE's subsidiaries include Weverse Company, Big Hit Music, Pledis, Source Music, and ADOR. Although current assets decreased from 2.115 trillion KRW (~1.56 billion USD) in 2022 to 1.89 trillion KRW (1.4 billion USD), the size of non-current assets increased significantly due to an increase in financial assets and retained earnings. It is estimated that this was largely influenced by the acquisition of SM Entertainment shares.

Once a company is designated as a large enterprise conglomerate, various regulations such as mandatory disclosures and restrictions on internal transactions will be imposed.

Korean netizens commented, "They need to treat BTS so much better," "That's BTS's blood, sweat, and tears right there," "Treat BTS better," "Wow, BTS is a whole company of their own," "The company needs to do better," "What's the point of becoming a conglomerate if the staff still lacks competence," and "Wow, that's impressive how they are now a conglomerate."