HYBE — the agency behind BTS — is facing renewed scrutiny after online allegations resurfaced suggesting that profits earned from BTS were effectively used to cover debt tied to Scooter Braun’s former company, Ithaca Holdings.
The claims centre on HYBE’s acquisition of Ithaca Holdings in 2021, a deal initially reported to be worth around 1 trillion won, but later understood to involve approximately 1.2 trillion won in total. According to the allegations, HYBE not only paid the acquisition price but also assumed around 120 billion won (about $83 million USD) in debt associated with Braun’s past business dealings, including loans related to Taylor Swift’s music masters that Braun had previously acquired.
Critics on social media and message boards argue this effectively meant HYBE used revenue generated by BTS — at the time its primary income source — to absorb the Ithaca debt. They point to the fact that HYBE funded the acquisition by deploying roughly 74 per cent of its available cash reserves and borrowing an additional 560 billion won, a strategy that some say placed heavy reliance on BTS’s ongoing financial output.
The controversy has been amplified by resurfaced posts on platforms like TheQoo and Reddit, which summarise claims that HYBE took on significant financial risk — including debt repayment and cash reserves — as part of the Ithaca acquisition, and retained that debt long after Braun’s departure from the company. These posts note that HYBE allegedly appointed a high goodwill premium on Ithaca’s assets, raising questions about financial strategy and transparency.
HYBE and its founder, Bang Si-hyuk, have not issued a public response to these specific allegations. When asked about the matter, Bang did not respond, according to Koreaboo’s report.
The renewed focus on HYBE’s financial decisions comes amid broader challenges and scrutiny faced by the company. In 2025, HYBE was raided by South Korean authorities in connection with alleged fraudulent trading involving founder Bang Si-hyuk, an investigation the company says it is cooperating with fully.
Separately, HYBE has also been linked to insider trading cases: in mid-2025 three employees were given suspended sentences for selling HYBE shares ahead of BTS’s 2022 military hiatus announcement, a period when the company’s stock dropped sharply after the members confirmed their enlistment plans.
Financially, HYBE continues to rely heavily on BTS’s returns. Even as the company expands into new markets and develops other artists, a large portion of its revenue historically came from BTS’s albums, tours and merchandise — and this reliance has been highlighted in recent earnings reports.
Fans and industry observers differ in their interpretation of the latest allegations. Some argue that HYBE’s acquisition strategy risked BTS’s earnings in pursuit of broader global reach, while others suggest the company’s complex international investments are a normal part of expansion for a major entertainment group.
Regardless, the discussion underscores how BTS’s commercial power continues to shape discourse not only around music and pop culture, but also around the business practices of the entertainment industry’s largest players.
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