YG Entertainment, celebrating its 30th anniversary, opens a new chapter toward the next 30 years. Moving with a sharper and heavier step than ever, YG is determined to open a new 30 years with its brilliant past legacy and powerful future growth engines. And at the center of that is the leadership of chief producer Yang Hyun-suk as a strong control tower.
▲ Big Bang, Blackpink as mega IPs and YG's flexible alliances and planning capabilities
The so-called "seven-year curse" in K-pop was regarded as group breakup or activity suspension, but YG changed the "seven-year curse" with flexible alliances and planning by cleverly maintaining the YG aura and synergy that underpin the group while supporting members' individual activities and the establishment of solo labels.
At the center is chief producer Yang Hyun-suk. While supporting group members' individual activities and the establishment of solo labels, he has been cleverly maintaining the YG aura and synergy that form the group's foundation. The 'Big Bang 20th anniversary debut tour' project, cited as one of this year's biggest topics in the music industry, fully proves the power of YG's originality, and although Blackpink is also expanding individual capabilities as global pop stars, the brand assets they have built remain tightly connected to the YG system.
By showing an evolved model of management that wins through mutual trust and flexible alliances rather than blind restrictions on artists, YG Entertainment presented another picture to the K-pop industry beyond YG's next 30 years.
▲ YG's present and the core engines that will strike the global market: TREASURE x BABYMONSTER
TREASURE and BABYMONSTER, who will sprint down the solid road paved by predecessors such as Big Bang and Blackpink, are the present and future that chief producer Yang Hyun-suk is most devoted to.
BABYMONSTER, returning with mini album 3 'Dance', is a core YG project. Performance was emphasized to the extent that an unusually large 10 teams were commissioned for choreography, and chief producer Yang Hyun-suk personally participated in supervising the chorus choreography, providing wholehearted support. As a result, they have turned on the million-seller green light by gaining popularity around the world, including North America·China·Japan, and secured momentum for a new single release in June and a second world tour.
TREASURE, which will open a new chapter on June 1, aims to expand the powerful fandom honed on its Asia tour into the North American market. With a global distribution network already secured based on a partnership with major U.S. record label Columbia Records, chief producer Yang Hyun-suk expressed confidence, saying, "This is the result I am most pleased with so far." As TREASURE will inherit YG's distinctive hip-hop DNA, they are considered a key force to capture the past, present and future.
With chief producer Yang Hyun-suk taking the lead, the speed of decision-making and the continuity of projects have also been strengthened. As a leader, Yang Hyun-suk not only drew the big picture but also ensured YG's distinctive high level of completion through 'micro directing', directly overseeing everything from song selection to choreography composition and music video editing. As all planning and production processes pass through chief producer Yang Hyun-suk, an environment has been created where artists can concentrate on music and performance without wavering.
▲ maximizing label synergy, a roadmap to lead the next 30 years
YG's 2026 roadmap does not end here, and chief producer Yang Hyun-suk's gaze goes beyond 2026. They are determined to continuously infuse new blood by presenting a five-member rookie boy group scheduled to debut this September and a next girl group project called "next monster."
With an organic combination with YG PLUS for digital music·album distribution and MD business, and with labels such as YG Underground building their own independent areas while sharing the musical trajectory called 'YG family', each label and business division under chief producer Yang Hyun-suk's direction mesh like gears to produce synergy. This is proven by first-quarter revenue of 147.1 billion won and operating profit of 19.4 billion won, increases of 46.9% and 103.9%, respectively, year over year.
Since its founding in 1996, YG has led an unrefined raw charm and hip-hop aesthetics in the Korean popular music scene. In 2026, its 30th anniversary, YG is ready for a second leap forward to lead the next 30 years by operating symbolic IPs such as Big Bang and Blackpink in healthy coexistence, striking the global pop market through TREASURE and BABYMONSTER, and activating a nonstop stream of new lineups.
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