Will Chinese fans be able to see BTS perform in the country? HYBE established its first subsidiary in China in a bid to facilitate its artists' activities in the country amid increasing anticipation for the Chinese market opening up to Korean artists.

HYBE established HYBE China in Beijing on April 2, according to the K-pop powerhouse on Thursday.


This is HYBE's fourth overseas subsidiary, following HYBE Japan, HYBE America and HYBE Latin. HYBE's subsidiary Pledis Entertainment, home to boy band Seventeen, established Pledis China in 2018 before being acquired by HYBE in 2020.

"We have been preparing since last year to establish HYBE China," said a HYBE official. "We will focus on supporting HYBE artists to promote their activities in the local scene."

Other major K-pop agencies — SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment — have already established their subsidiaries in China. SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment manage China-focused boy bands named WayV and Boy Story.

HYBE China hasn't planned to debut separate bands but is expected to focus on supporting existing HYBE artists with promoting in China, according to reports.

The news comes two days after HYBE announced that it will sell all of its 9.4 percent stake in SM Entertainment to China's Tencent for 200 billion won ($145 million).

HYBE said it will release 2,212,237 shares of SM Entertainment, which represents a 9.38 percent stake in the company, in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Tencent will be placed as the second largest shareholder of SM Entertainment, following Kakao and Kakao Entertainment — which respectively own 21.61 percent and 19.89 percent, totaling 41 percent.

Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will report Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE, for lying to shareholders so that they would sell their shares to a private fund run by Bang's acquaintance, according to a report by The Korea Economic Daily on Wednesday.

He allegedly told shareholders that he had no intention of taking the company public and provided them with false information to persuade them to sell their shares to a private equity fund (PEF) founded by one of his acquaintances.

The FSS plans to fast-track the case to prosecutors once its investigation concludes, according to the report.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]