HYBE Chair, Quest Means Business Interview

> How good are you at the work-life balance?

워 라벨을 얼마나 잘 하고 있나요?

Actually, I don't like that concept of work life balance for it sounds like labor is the enemy of our
life. So I try not to use such an expression.

사실, 노동이 우리 삶에 적으로 인식되는 거 같아서 워 라벨이라는 개념을 별로 좋아하지 않습니다.

그래서 그 표현은 잘 안 쓰려고 노력합니다.

> You've been unbelievably successful, but there is also criticism that demands on the artists, it's
too stressful. They can't cope. You've created a factory. You are nodding, which means, you have
heard it all before. But isn't it true that you are putting these kids under tremendous pressure?

당신은 아주 성공을 했으나 아티스트들에게는 그들이 감당하지 못 할 너무 많은 스트레스를 주는 거

같다는 비판이 나오고 있습니다. 당신은 음원 공장을 만들었죠, 끄덕이는 걸 보니 이전에 이 말을
들었던 거 같은데 당신이 이 아이들(아티스트) 에게 엄청난 압박을 주고 있는 게 사실 아닌가요?

Well, let me put it this way. It’s not a total urban legend. Of course, there was some element of it
in the past. But we should ask: Are these questions justifiable (legitimate)? I don’t see any clear
difference when we applied the same things to the Western pop. Is any one of the Western artists
not living a stressful life? In most cases, they face a more serious catastrophe than Koreans in the
form of drug or alcohol abuse. So, please think about how stress-free the Western artists are.
With regards to the issue of autonomy, that was clearly an issue in the past. But the times have
changed and the K-pop companies of today try their best not to violate the artists’ freedom.

음, 이런 식으로 말해 보겠습니다. 그것은 완전히 도시 괴담(거짓말)이 아닙니다. 물론 과거에 몇가지

요소가 있었지만, 그러한 질문들이 정당한가요? 웨스트 팝에 똑같이 비교 했을 때도 명확한 차이를
모르겠습니다. 웨스트 팝 가수들도 스트레스 가득한 삶을 살고 있지 않나요? 대부분의 상황에서,
알코올 혹은 마약 중독과 같은 한국보다 더 끔찍한 재앙을 마주하고 있습니다. 그러니, 웨스트 팝
가수들이 얼마나 많은 스트레스를 받는지 생각해보세요. 자치에 관해서는, 당연히 과거에는 문제가
되었습니다. 하지만 시대는 변했고 오늘날의 한국 케이 팝 회사들은 최대한 아티스트들의 자유를
침범하지 않으려고 노력하고 있습니다.

> How do you keep K-pop growing internationally, so that it doesn’t just all fall apart?

케이 팝이 분해(분리) 되지 않도록 국제적으로 어떻게 하고 있습니까?

K-pop is not as hot in the market as you might perceive. Globally, it’s not occupying much of the
market. On the other hand, Latin music and Afrobeats are vey rapidly growing. So being where we
are, (현재 우리 K-pop 의 점유율이 낮기 때문에) it is more urgent to increase the exposure. For that
purpose, I’m taking over labels and management companies in America to be able to build the
infrastructure.

> Do you worry that it's just going to fizzle out? You know, I think of the 1970s and 80s, there
was this these companies, producers Scott Aiken Waterman. You know, with all the bands
recasting and all of those things, it all just fizzled out and something else came along.

That is my major concern. In fact, looking at our export indicators and streaming growth, the
slowdown in growth is very clear. It would be fortunate if this is a temporary phenomenon caused
by BTS’s military enlistment, but I doubt that. As you mentioned, K-pop as a genre might be in a
dangerous state now showing the slowdown. And it’s one of the reasons that I’ve been more
aggressive about the takeover. We absolutely need to raise the level of awareness in the global
market.

> > Obviously, from day one, you knew that BTS and military service was going to come along.

Did you, do you look upon the military service as an advantage? It really grounds them in being
real, make some national institution, or do you regard it as a relative nuisance that has to be
done, and let’s get back when you finish it?

From the career’s point of view, no artist would be happy to have such a long pause against their
will. I think it’s a separate issue from the mindset that we faithfully and gladly serve the country.
Yet BTS and I were talking about this since early 2018. So it’s been long discussed, and we’re not
done yet. We’ve been prepared to turn this into a turning point in their career. It’s obviously true
that they needed this time of rest after such an intense period of hard work. They can’t remain
the BTS of today, but need to grow and change as artists.

> How do you see your role to the artists, BTS, obviously is your biggest, but are you a father
figure, a big brother, a mentor? Are you a producer? Are you a best friend? Or all of the above?

To BTS, I think it’s all of the above. I don’t think they’ll be surprised to hear my answer. To the
other artists, I support the independence of the labels very strongly, so we haven’t had much
contact. They have their own brothers, mentors, and producers. They’ re the ones I talked to
mostly. Some of them might consider me as their producer. Some might see me as their
chairman, not knowing exactly what I do. Others don’t know me at all. Seriously, I met some of
them who have no idea about me. //

> People say you are trying to take over the whole industry and this business of sm
entertainment, Why do you want sm entertainment, when the management wants to go into a
different direction?

Well, first of all, it wouldn’t be correct to say that we are trying to take over the whole industry. A
lot of misinformation is out there in the market. For example, people are saying that there will be
a serious oligopoly in the music market. But you need to analyze where music is being sold. You
might assume that it’s sold mostly in Korea. But excluding all the international orders, even
through purchasing agencies, with all the CDs sold in Korea, both SM and Hybe combined, it’s
very difficult to monopolize the market. Besides, entertainment business is not just about selling
CDs, right? And there are many different spin-offs of the industry such as digital copies, concerts
and merchandise.

>, This is unusual, that is going to turn into a hostile deal. You want one thing, management
wants something else. The courts are gonna get involved. Is there an agreement to be made?
What do you think?

I believe it is crucial to clarify terms first. The term “hostile deal” is not obscure, but it has a clear
meaning. In economics, it basically refers to a case where a company is collected (시장에서 매집)
in the market against the will of a major or oligopolistic shareholder. However, we took over their
stake with the consent of the major shareholder through due process. I think it’s propagandistic to
call it a hostile deal. Rather, I think it is a serious problem that management wants to run a
distributed company as they wish without a major shareholder.