YG Entertainment CEO Yang Min Suk resigns soon after K-pop star Yang Hyun Suk steps down from all positions in company
Soon after K-pop star Yang Hyun Suk stepped down from all positions at YG Entertainment, his brother and CEO of the company, Yang Min Suk, too announced his decision to resign from the company following a slew of negative press that the company has been facing for some time now.
After news of iKON leader BI's involvement in a 2016 drug case broke this week, things have not gone very well for the South Korean entertainment agency YG Entertainment. Given that it was not the first scandal the big agency is facing this year, a petition has asked for all of YGE artistes' activities to be suspended following the many drug scandals the agency has been involved in.
On June 14, the CEO shared the news with the company’s internal staff through an official letter.
The statement read: "I am deeply ashamed of myself [when I think of] everyone feeling uneasy and worried due to all of the continuous and provocative issues that have been happening from the beginning of the year. Yang Hyun Suk and I have immersed ourselves in music activities and management, and have silently endured all of the speculations because we believe that the truth will surely come to light."
"However, as I’ve watched different situations continuously give the celebrities, who are unrelated to the recent issues, in our agency a hard time, I’ve realized that it is hard to overcome by just enduring. In order for [the company] to solve these current difficulties, grow, and prepare for a new breakthrough, I believe a big change is needed. And in order for there to be no misunderstandings regarding Yang Hyun Suk’s decision to step down, I think there needs to be a clarification on my part."
He concluded, "After careful consideration in the midst of these situations, I have decided to resign from my long-held position of CEO at YG Entertainment. A while ago, during the commemoration for the 23rd anniversary of establishing [YG Entertainment], I shared with you that above all, we ourselves must first change in order to overcome the current difficulties. I sincerely hope that my decision will be the start of a big, new, and positive change for YG."
As previously reported, the Korean entertainment industry was hit with a massive drug scandal when iKON's leader BI's involvement with a drug dealer was revealed.
In 2016, the rapper tried to make a purchase of what is commonly know as LSD to "become a genius" and this was revealed through screenshots of Kakao talk chat messages between the rapper and the drug offender.
She reportedly confirmed to the police that she did deliver acid strips but refused to divulge more information.
At this time, the 22-year-old musician took to Instagram to apologize to his fans, but in his statement, he said he did try to purchase drugs, but never went through with it as he was scared.
It all started with a report by Dispatch, a Korean news organization, which broke the news about rapper BI's Kakao conversation that took place in 2016.
Initially, BI's former agency denied any allegations of the rapper using illegal drugs, however, once the initial statement from the drug dealer was released, BI released a statement and said he would be leaving the band in the face of all the allegations.
Followed by this, YGE also released a statement which confirmed BI's contract with them had been canceled. It was also revealed that the police got an initial testimony from a different drug dealer, who named many of his clients including BI and directed the police to the peddler who had the conversation with BI on Kakao Talk.