Executives from major Korean K-pop companies, including HYBE, SM Entertainment, and Kakao Entertainment, have been named to the '2025 Billboard Global Power Players' list announced by the U.S. music industry magazine Billboard.
On May 19 (local time), Billboard published its list of key figures leading the global music industry this year on its official website. The list, which was previously called 'International Power Players,' has been renamed, and now includes a significant number of executives from Korea's leading K-pop agencies.
From HYBE, five executives were selected: Chairman Bang Sihyuk, CEO Lee Jaesang, Shin Youngjae (Head of HYBE Music Group APAC), Ga Jonghyun (CEO of HYBE Latin America), and Oh Yujin (Head of HYBE360). Chairman Bang was named to the list for the fourth time, following previous selections in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Shin and Oh were selected for the fourth and second consecutive years, respectively. This is the first time that CEO Lee and CEO Ga have been included.
Billboard noted that "HYBE is gaining momentum for global expansion in the unexpected field of AI technology." Its subsidiary Supertone is contributing to content innovation by producing virtual pop groups and applying multilingual pronunciation technology to concert videos of Tomorrow X Together. CEO Lee stated, "AI can be a helpful tool for creators, and how carefully and appropriately we utilize technology will determine the future of the music industry."
From SM Entertainment, Co-CEOs Jang Chulhyuk and Tak Youngjun were selected for the second and fourth consecutive years, respectively. Billboard highlighted that SM expanded its global fandom through aespa's world tour, which held a total of 43 performances in 28 cities from last year to this year. The debut single 'Ariana' by British boy group dearALICE, which was co-launched with Kakao Entertainment, was also positively noted for reaching No. 2 on the UK Official Physical Singles Chart.
Jang Yoonjung, Co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment, has been named to the list for four consecutive years since 2021. Billboard explained that CEO Jang has led K-pop's overseas expansion by leveraging global IP production and synergy between labels. The company has strengthened its global influence through world tours and global festival participation by artists such as IU and IVE, as well as the discovery of new acts like the band Dragon Pony and Kiki.
In addition, Park Jungjoo, Head of the Music Team at Spotify Korea, was also included in this year's list.
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