HYBE’s Alleged Ties To Former First Lady Invites Intense Scrutiny

K-Pop giant HYBE is facing increasing scrutiny for its alleged ties to former First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

Kim Keon Hee

According to recent Korean media reports, HYBE allegedly hired and then abruptly canceled the hiring of an individual closely linked to the former First Lady, as the investigation against Kim Keon Hee intensified in recent weeks.

NoCut News reported that HYBE had hired a certain Mr. Kim, who is the husband of Ms. Cho, a top aide of Kim Keon Hee, as a member of its External Cooperation Team around July 2. However, the hiring was revoked shortly after. When the outlet reached out to HYBE for clarification, a representative told them that Mr. Kim was hired for the National Assembly liaison team, adding that “he briefly joined the company but then resigned.”

Another HYBE official explained that Mr. Kim had joined the team through a formal hiring procedure but hadn’t disclosed the identity of his spouse. “Under current regulations, the company cannot check an applicant’s family connections,” they added, clarifying that the hiring was not made on the basis of connections.

Mr. Kim reportedly has experience working as a parliamentary aide. He was appointed as Policy Aide to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in March of last year and served in the role until recently, when he stepped down. According to the Ministry of Personnel Management, he passed the employment review for retired public officials last month, which made him eligible to join HYBE’s External Cooperation Office earlier this month.

Mr. Kim’s appointment as a police aide, which is a high-profile political post, had already sparked speculations about Ms. Cho pulling strings from behind the scenes as a close aide of Kim Keon Hee. Former ministerial aides noted that such posts are typically filled by individuals who have experience in election campaigns or have an extensive background as legislative aides. Since Mr. Kim had neither, his appointment was seen as unusual. Even a former high-ranking officer under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration had raised suspicions about Mr. Kim having “backing” from someone influential.

GivenMr. Kim’s backgroundm, his unusual hiring and revocation by HYBE have put the company under scrutiny. The situation has been aggravated by the fact that HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si Hyuk is currently under investigation for fraudulent trading. Recentl,y financial authorities announced their intention to file criminal charges against Bang under the Capital Markets Act.

Bang Si Hyuk | JoongAng Ilbo

As the news of Mr. Kim’s association with HYBE became public, international fans engaged with multiple speculations about HYBE’s possible political connections within the previous administration and how it could have had overarching consequences that people might have missed.

So BSH is being protected by the dictator who declared a Martial law, his wife who was accused of plagiarising her masters thesis, stick price manipulation and other forms of corruption, and Hybe hiring someone from her inner circle? Inch resting! https://t.co/Eg7tmhA2Ia

— pb⁷myg yearner|BTS IS HOME! 3.0⏰🍉🔻ia (@snoozebyyoongi) July 11, 2025

bang shihyuk is being protected by the wife of south korea’s former president AND dictator, yoon suk-yeol. the same man who wanted to k!ll his own people btw. let that sink in. https://t.co/bSeRxiLVSA

— maro ᰔ🔻FREE PALESTINE (@admirerOx) July 10, 2025

they used BTS' money to catapult themselves into corruption. Also this explains a lot about Yoongi's scooter scandal and why HYBE did not protect him. I hope BTS sees this and skeddales themselves out of HYBE. I hope all groups do because HYBE cares more about image than groups https://t.co/k6xonG2q4Y

— Eclipse (@Lotuswhale613) July 10, 2025

so now we all know why they threw yoongi under the bus, to take attention away from the first lady’s scandals
you can rot in jail bang shihyuk https://t.co/5HBkU1I0UO pic.twitter.com/5JoGiTF3gN

— lara⁷ || ⟭⟬E ARE B⟬⟭CK (@eryunki) July 10, 2025