K-pop shares dip briefly on report of antitrust probe on output

K-pop shares dip briefly on report of antitrust probe on output


INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 15: (L-R) Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie, and Rosé of BLACKPINK conduct at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Songs and Arts Festival on April 15, 2023 in Indio, California.

Frazer Harrison | Getty Visuals Leisure | Getty Pictures

Shares of K-pop companies dipped briefly on Wednesday just after a noted investigation by South Korea’s antitrust watchdog.

South Korea’s Truthful Trade Fee launched an investigation into allegations of electricity abuse in the significant enjoyment companies, South Korean nearby media Yonhap Information claimed Wednesday, citing unnamed market resources.

The report reported governing administration businesses sent “examiners” to the places of work of Hybe, SM Entertainment, YG Leisure, according to a CNBC translation of the article.

Yonhap noted that these organizations have allegedly violated the nation’s “subcontracting law,” together with applying verbal contracts as an alternative of prepared files and delaying payment when creating albums and products.

Hybe, the agency at the rear of BTS, saw its shares slide as substantially as 3%, while SM Leisure fell as very low as 2.19%. Each shares pared some of their losses by lunch split on Wednesday.

YG Leisure, which manages lady group Blackpink, saw a smaller decline of up to 1.49%, but reversed study course to trade 2.23% larger.

When contacted by CNBC, South Korea’s FTC mentioned they could not verify or deny the Yonhap report. Hybe reported that it has no opinions, even though YG Leisure and SM Enjoyment did not respond to requests searching for opinions to the Yonhap report.

— CNBC’s Kimberly Kao contributed to this report. 



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