Weverse Magazine Issues Apology Over Controversial HYBE Idol Rating Report
Nov 10, 2024
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On November 9, Weverse Magazine apologized for the inconvenience and concern caused by a monitoring document, which was revealed as part of the controversy. The magazine issued its apology on its official website, saying, "We deeply apologize for the situation caused by the monitoring document."
Earlier, during the parliamentary audit of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee on October 24, a report prepared by Weverse Magazine for HYBE executives raised concerns. The report contained sensitive details, including evaluations of the appearance of idols from other agencies and unverified controversies about their private lives, and had been shared with HYBE executives for over two years.
HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang also apologized, explaining, "The document was shared only with some leadership for the purpose of understanding public opinion and the views of artist fans, but the contents of the document were highly inappropriate."
Weverse Magazine issued its official statement on November 10, 17 days after the controversy emerged. In the statement, the magazine clarified, "The document was created independently by the former editor-in-chief, and the members of Weverse Magazine were unaware of its existence."
"We want to emphasize that except for the former editor-in-chief, neither the staff members nor the external personnel involved in the production of Weverse Magazine were involved in preparing the monitoring documents," the statement continued.
Regarding the disciplinary action against the former editor-in-chief, the statement confirmed that he was removed from his position and no longer involved with Weverse Magazine. "The personnel requested by the former editor-in-chief for monitoring work have also been suspended," it added.
Weverse Magazine made it clear that the controversial document was unrelated to the magazine's team and that they strongly oppose its content.
Finally, the statement concluded, "We deeply apologize once again for the unsavory nature of the matter and for the inconvenience it has caused."
Full Statement from Weverse Magazine
To those who care about Weverse Magazine, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused by the situation involving the monitoring document.
We would like to provide the following clarifications regarding the issue:
Weverse Magazine unequivocally states that it is unrelated to the controversial monitoring document and that the members of Weverse Magazine oppose it.
Nevertheless, we apologize again for the inconvenience caused by this matter.
We promise to provide our readers with deeper and richer content in the future.
The Weverse Magazine Team
rightlight@sportschosun.com
