As Jimin's management company, HYBE is expected to fully support his promotional activities. But it seems like HYBE did not do its job well and made the fan community feel angry.
Therefore, on the morning of November 13, Jimin's fan club organized a truck protest in front of HYBE headquarters, demanding that the agency explain its shortcomings in artist management. Not only that, along with the truck protest, Jimin's fans also trended on Twitter, sent emails and demanded that HYBE give a clear answer on this issue.
Below is the ongoing situation between Jimin's fan club and HYBE:
On the 13th, 'BTS Jimin DC Inside Gallery', one of Jimin's fan communities is holding a truck demonstration in front of the headquarters of HYBE Co., Ltd. in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Not only that, protest trucks were also directed to the front doors of securities companies and broadcasting companies. This quickly attracted the attention of the public and the media.
The protest stemmed from Jimin's fans feeling dissatisfied with the way his management company worked. They have pointed out problems in the way the company promoted Jimin during his solo activities for a long time but have not received a response. So this time, they couldn't continue to endure and acted publicly to force HYBE to give a detailed explanation.
On the protest truck there were banners with the content: "Is HYBE the management company of BTS Jimin?", "HYBE is neglecting its responsibilities even though Jimin has renewed his contract", "Please explain the reason Like Crazy did not receive RIAA platinum certification", "Please explain ignoring the request to retock the single CD", "Sue against malicious comments and protect the artist"...
Meanwhile, adding to the fan club's protest action, they revealed the reason for this great anger. They pointed out, "The title track 'Like Crazy' from Jimin's first album 'FACE' was certified RIAA platinum for selling 1 million copies in the United States last August, but has not received platinum certification due to the agency's unsatisfactory response. Although 'Like Crazy' became the first ̾k̾o̾r̾e̾an solo artist to be nominated in the Top Selling Song category at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, the need to restock it for fans in the United States is still not being met even after the first restock. Distributors also responded that they will not receive additional support from the management company in the near future."
RIAA certification signifies the success of an album or single in the music industry, and the certification itself serves as a marketing tool that helps boost sales and streaming. But because HYBE was weak in management, distribution and promotion, many of Like Crazy, FACE and Jimin's achievements could not be achieved, making fans extremely angry.
Next, the fan club also äṩṩessed that HYBE had a "helpless reaction" to malicious comments and ̾s̾e̾xual haräṩṩment directed at Jimin. Due to these various issues, HYBE can be seen as lacking artist management ability, lacking marketing ability, and major loopholes in idol career management.
In addition to the truck rally, fans' päṩṩionate comments are also being amplified by making statements on Twitter or emailing the company directly. Through their truck protest, they are demanding that HYBE improve its management and professional artist care, and strongly calling for apologies, explanations, and official communication from those responsible responsibility. Both fans and Jimin have been going through a difficult time due to lack of management and poor care from the management company, so they predicted a long battle and said, 'This time we will go to the end'.
