YG Entertainment, home to K-pop groups BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, has named Yang Min-seok, the young brother of former CEO and company founder Yang Hyun-sun, as sole CEO. The company announced the appointment following its annual shareholder meeting on Friday (March 29). Yang had previously shared co-CEO duties with Hwang Bo-kyung, who was named CEO in 2019 after Yang Hyun-sun, a former member of the group Seo Taiji and Boys, stepped down amidst allegations he concealed a drug scandal.
Yang Min-seok takes the helm of a storied Korean music company with surging revenue and a bonafide superstar act in BLACKPINK. Last year, YG Entertainment’s annual sales rose 65% to 569.2 billion won ($429.9 million). BLACKPINK’s album, Born Pink, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on Oct. 1, 2022, and spent 13 weeks on the chart. The group’s 66-date Born Pink World Tour reached across North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania before culminating with two shows at the 35,000-capacity Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea in September.
Three new outside directors were also appointed at the meeting: Park Jeong-mi, Jeon Seong-won and Lee Dong-woo. Park is a certified public accountant and currently serves as a tax accountant at Jeongan Tax Accounting Office. Jeon is a lawyer with Kim & Chang Law Office and former chief of the Bucheon Branch, Incheon District prosecutor’s office. Lee is an advisor to H-Re Co. and former head of the investment strategy office at Netmarble, the country’s largest mobile gaming company. The company also reappointed co-CEO Hwang as executive director.
Also at the meeting, YG Entertainment’s shareholders approved a dividend of 300 won (23 cents) per share that will pay out a total of 5.56 billion won ($4.2 million). In 2023, the company earned a per-share profit of 4,120 won ($3.11) on net income of 77 billion won ($58.1 million), up 46% from 2022.