K-pop star Jennie has received more than 20 billion won ($13.68 million) in earnings distributions from her own entertainment company in just two years, according to filings with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Sunday.

OA Entertainment, founded by Jennie in late 2023, paid the artist a total of 23.8 billion won: 14.3 billion won in 2024 and approximately 9.5 billion won in 2025. The payments are classified as cost of sales in the company's audit report and are understood to reflect earnings from advertising, performances, music releases and television appearances, though a breakdown by category has not been disclosed.


Jennie, a member of K-pop girl group Blackpink, established OA Entertainment — the name standing for "Odd Atelier," meant to evoke an unconventional creative space — after her contract with YG Entertainment expired. Under the arrangement, she continues her activities with Blackpink through YG, while managing her solo album releases, advertisements and performances independently. She holds a 100 percent stake in the company. Her mother serves as chief executive.

The company's financials reflect rapid growth. In its first full year of operation, OA Entertainment recorded revenue of 18.9 billion won and an operating profit of 580 million won in 2024, per the FSS. By 2025, revenue had risen roughly 26 percent to 23.8 billion won. Operating profit dipped to 390 million won, a decline the industry attributes to upfront investment in staff and increased service fees as the business expands.

Jennie reportedly has also personally lent money to her own company, with shareholder loans reaching approximately 2.86 billion won at the end of last year, up sharply from the year before. Analysts see this as a sign of hands-on financial commitment to the venture.

The numbers are also backed by growing global reach. Jennie has been billed as a headliner at seven major international music festivals, extending her profile across North America and Europe. She was also the only K-pop artist named to TIME Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2026.

"Jennie has shown that you can step outside the major agency system and still generate revenue directly on the basis of global influence," one industry insider said.

Jennie debuted as one of four members of Blackpink in 2016. Best known for songs such as “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” (2018) and “How You Like That” (2020), the girl group has since made international inroads, becoming the first K-pop female act to perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2019 and later the first K-pop act to headline the event.

Jennie launched her solo career in November 2018 with the single “Solo.” The most recent album, “Ruby” (2025), had three tracks enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously, a first for a K-pop female solo artist. “Like Jennie,” a track on “Ruby,” was the most streamed K-pop song on Spotify in the first half of 2025.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]