"Don't Judge Idols Easily" Lengthy Post... Seventeen's Seungkwan Targets HYBE?

Posted a lengthy message on SNS to indirectly criticize
"Desperately striving to show the best version"

Seventeen member Seungkwan (real name Boo Seungkwan) has drawn attention by posting a message seemingly targeting the 'HYBE report controversy.' Previously, a leaked internal HYBE report caused a stir for containing content that appeared to evaluate domestic idol groups.

On the 29th, Seungkwan posted a lengthy message on his social media account. The post begins with the sentence, "I no longer want to see people hurting each other."

Group Seventeen member Seungkwan
[Photo by Instagram capture]

Seungkwan emphasized, "Including our members, the colleagues and friends I know who are working hard within the large industry called K-pop are people who genuinely love this work," adding, "Being an entertainer is a profession I chose, and while receiving a lot of love means there are parts you have to endure, I don't think it is a job where you have to suffer to the point of eating yourself away until you are about to die."

He continued, "They are not people who have had such smooth and easy careers that they can be judged lightly," and added, "They have experienced pain, fallen apart, and somehow overcome it, fiercely striving to show their best selves to fans on stage." He then firmly stated, "I hope people don’t take idols lightly."

Seungkwan did not specifically identify who the "you all" mentioned in his post referred to. However, among fans, there is an interpretation that the message was aimed at the recent 'HYBE internal report controversy.'

The controversy arose on the 24th during the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit, when HYBE was criticized for creating an 'evaluation report' targeting members of domestic idol groups. The report, titled 'Weekly Music Industry Report,' is an industry trend document sent weekly to HYBE and its subsidiary label executives.

According to materials disclosed during the audit, the report contained numerous phrases that seemed to evaluate appearances, such as "surprisingly ugly," "debuted a bunch of members at their ugliest age," "none of them have idol-like facial features," and "if someone is called ugly, respond with XX’s old photos."

However, HYBE explained that the report was a public opinion compilation document unrelated to HYBE’s official stance.

In an official statement, HYBE said, "The monitoring report disclosed in the National Assembly is a document compiling various fandom and industry reactions and public opinions," adding, "It was created by excerpting community and SNS responses as they are to share industry trends and issues internally with a small number of people for reference, and it does not represent HYBE’s position."

Meanwhile, Seungkwan’s group Seventeen is under Pledis Entertainment, a subsidiary label of HYBE.