HYBE Corp., the parent company of music labels managing K-pop artists such as BTS, Seventeen, TXT, ENHYPEN, Le Sserafim and Fromis 9, reported record revenues and profit in the second quarter of 2022.
During the conference call to report the financial results of HYBE for the second quarter of 2022 on Aug. 3, HYBE CEO Park Ji-won and CFO Lee Kyung-Jun commented on the future activities and military service of BTS.
Park Ji-won said, “BTS released an album, ‘Proof,’ in June, an anthology album that compiled their nine-year music career since debut in 2013. It is a gift album for BTS fans and also marks the beginning of the new beginning for the group.”
“It was also announced that BTS members will pursue solo careers as well as team projects to sustain their growth and expand their boundaries,” he said.
He also talked about J-Hope’s solo album and performance at Lollapalooza.
“And for solo activities, J-Hope released a solo album titled ‘Jack in the Box’ on July 15 to express his new musical values, which received positive reviews by various media including the Grammy. As a main headliner, J-Hope took the main stage on the last day of Lollapalooza, one of the world’s largest music festivals held in Chicago last weekend, well demonstrating his continuous growth as an artist,” he said.
The CEO said J-Hope’s performance was streamed live on WeVerse Live for 70 minutes, which was viewed by fans from 223 countries and regions, and recorded 14.9 million views.
“Starting with J-Hope, other BTS members are also working hard on their solo projects to showcase their individual perspectives of music. These endeavors will allow them to grow even further as artists while they will continue to work together to show diverse aspects of BTS,” he revealed.
He cited BTS’ concert in Busan as honorary ambassadors for the World Expo 2030 Busan.
“Likewise, I would like to reiterate that BTS is going to carry out those team projects and solo projects in a harmonious manner,” he said.
The HYBE officials were asked about the future of BTS in case the members would eventually enlist in the military.
CFO Lee Kyung-Jun said, “We are well aware that investors are interested in this military service issues but as you may know, nothing has been decided yet with respect to the timeline and format of military service obligation.”
“As we mentioned, the BTS members will pursue their solo and group careers together and some BTS members are planning to release their albums going forward. And for the team, there is one certain plan or schedule is to hold a global concert in Busan in October,” he said.
The CFO added, “In addition to these specific plans, there is nothing much we can share at this point in time. But once decisions are made regarding military service obligations and other plans, we will share more details about the BTS members’ activities for solo and group projects.”
Last Aug. 1 at Korea’s National Assembly, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said, “(The BTS members) should come to the military, and I believe there will be a way for us to give them the opportunity to practice as well as allow them to leave the country and perform anytime if they have overseas concerts scheduled,” he said.
For the second quarter of 2022, HYBE reported revenues of 512.2 billion won (about $391 million), an increase of 83.8 percent year-on-year; operating profit of 88.3 billion ($67.4 million); and a net profit of 93 billion won (about $70.98 million).