”Shockingly ugly” HYBE under siege due to internal documents criticizing idols' appearances

While Kim Tae Ho, CEO of BELIFT LAB and CEO of HYBE, attended a parliamentary audit, HYBE's internal documents candidly described evaluations of idols' appearances, causing a stir.

On the 24th, Kim Tae Ho appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's comprehensive parliamentary audit. On that day, Min Hyun-bae, a member of the Democratic Party, asked Kim Tae-ho if HYBE was doing a good job of protecting the human rights of its artists.

During this process, Min Hyun Bae revealed internal documents from HYBE's "Weekly Music Industry Report." The report in question was available to employees of HYBE and its participating labels, and contained serious criticisms of the appearances of underage artists.

The document that was made public contained statements such as, "None of the members have the facial features of an idol," "They've had terrible plastic surgery," "They have a tendency to show their appearance and sex appeal," "They're all surprisingly not cute," and "They're surprisingly ugly."

In response, Rep. Min Hyun Bae asked, "The information is too explicit. It includes criticisms of appearance. HYBE's 'Sustainable Management Report' says that they respect the human rights of their employees, but are they protecting human rights?"

Kim Tae Ho responded, "We are involved in the K-pop industry. We have seen multiple reactions to HYBE's artists and the general public. I don't remember the document in question. I remember it being a report created by our company."

Rep. Min Hyun Bae then said, "There are comments about appearance and low-quality expressions. The problem is that these expressions are directed at minors. It violates the guidelines for protecting rights in the Popular Culture Industry Act," but Kim Tae Ho replied, "I don't think so."

After the parliamentary audit, the public was shocked when they saw the document. It contained explicit expressions directed at underage artists and even criticism of artists in other entertainment companies, which caused disappointment. The public immediately criticized HYBE after seeing this, and HYBE was put on the chopping block.