YG Entertainment officials have confirmed that they are shutting down their actor management side of the business in their latest move. Which actors/actresses are affected and what will happen?
So what is happening?
The Korean entertainment giant said on Friday the 17th of January 2025 that they are shutting down their actor management side of the business in order to focus on it's music division. This will see big name stars such as Kim Hee Ae and Cha Seung Won among others leaving the agency in staged phases as their contracts end.
This of course is not the first time that a big influential business has had to restructure and focus their resources, although it has come as a surprise to many!
Who are the big name stars that will be leaving?
YG's talent portfolio currently includes well known actors such as Kim Hee Ae, Cha Seung Won, Jang Hyun Sung, Yoo In Na, Jung Hye Young, Claudia Kim, Lee Sung Kyung, Jang Ki Yong, Lee Soo Hyuk, Han Seung Yeon and Son Na Eun. Among them, Yoo Seung Ho, whose contract ends in March, is the only actor confirmed to leave on a specific date so far, with the others set to follow not long after. The question is will other stars leave sooner than their contract end date, and if so what are the implications for doing so, even though the business is set to end?
What factors may have swung this decision?
In business, no matter how much money you make your bottom line profit will always play a huge part in your decision making, especially when it comes to making cuts. YG recently announced in their third quarter that sales were down 42% year on year to 83.5 billion won and an operating deficit of 3.6 billion won. It was actually the wort performance among the four big players in the K-entertainment industry.
Re-focusing on music
As the move and announcement from YG stated, it marks a new step in YG Entertainments strategy, which began this shift last year. The agency integrated it's YGX music training center internally and strengthened it's production team, which now has around fifty members!
The repositioning is also part of their ambitious projects for 2025, which include the highly anticipated comeback of BLACKPINK, along with a world tour from their new group BABYMONSTER, YG's next flagship K-girl group! Not to mention the legendary 2NE1 who are also expected to step up their game this year!
Let us know what you think of YG's latest move in the comments below!
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