HYBE’s BigHit Music record label named current general manager Seon Jeong Shin to be the next president, following approval at a shareholders meeting and board of directors resolution on Tuesday (Nov. 26).
Shin, who was named to Billboard’s 2022 40 Under 40 list for helping develop HYBE’s artist training system, played a role in the creation and success of BTS. As the head of training and development, she also helped launch many HYBE artists that followed BTS’s global success, including TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, Le Sserafim and &Team. More recently, she helped expand HYBE’s artist training and development system to North America, where HYBE and Geffen Records launched the global girl group KATSEYE. “I feel like understanding the evolving demands of the public and the fans is the most important trend for people in this business,” she told Billboard in 2022.
HYBE has undergone a great deal of organizational change in 2024 as it exports its K-pop business model and approach to artist development. In July, Jason Jaesang Lee replaced Jiwon Park as CEO to lead the “HYBE 2.0” global expansion strategy. And when the company unveiled more details about its restructuring in August, current BigHit Music president Young Jae Shin was named president of the newly created HYBE Music Group APAC, which oversees the company’s operations in Japan and South Korea.
The South Korean company is also pushing ahead in the Americas. Following the 2023 acquisition of Exile Music Group, HYBE Latin America — under the leadership of CEO Jonghyun “JH” Kah — launched a new record label, DOCEMIL Music, and opened offices in Miami, Los Angeles and Mexico City. Additionally, HYBE America CEO Scooter Braun is overseeing all promotional and marketing collaborations between HYBE and its distributor, Universal Music Group, including helping onboard UMG artists to HYBE’s Weverse social media platform.
