The Minute to Read (Weekdays) series provides a quick overview of significant events in Korea everyday, conveniently condensed into a one-minute read. Here’s a recap of what happened yesterday.
HYBE-ADOR feud deepens over insider trading, plagiarism claims
Chairman Bang Si-hyuk of HYBE and CEO Min Hee-jin of ADOR, both pivotal in the globalization of K-pop, are caught up in a deepening feud. The conflict between “Father of BTS” Bang and “Mother of NewJeans” Min intensified on May 14 when HYBE petitioned the Financial Supervisory Service to investigate ADOR’s executives, including the vice president, for allegedly trading stocks using undisclosed information. On the same day, ADOR’s choreographers claimed that HYBE’s girl group ILLIT had plagiarized NewJeans’ choreography, and accusations also surfaced that NewJeans’ latest song ‘Bubble Gum’ plagiarized a track by the British jazz-funk band Shakatak.
Line app installs in S. Korea spike as Japan seeks control
Following the Japanese government’s request for Naver to sell its stake in LY Corporation, installations of the Line messenger app have surged in South Korea. The increase is driven by public concerns that Line could be “taken away” by Japan. In the first week of May, the number of new installations of the Line app reached its highest in about nine months since the second week of August last year.
S. Korean investors snap up Starbucks shares amid price drop
As United States consumers tightened their belts after Starbucks repeatedly raised its prices, Starbucks’ stock dropped by more than 20% this year. South Korean retail investors, investing in U.S. stocks, are eagerly buying up Starbucks shares. As of May 10, Starbucks has become the foreign stock most purchased by domestic investors, a trend driven by the perception that its share price has reached a low point.
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