The former member of the staff YG Heo Hyun, who had previously been sentenced in the notorious scandal of the sun on fire, is again making news – this time for his surprising return to the entertainment sector.
On September 24, the Musem entertainment company announced the appointment of Helio Hyun as a new Chief Business Officer (CBO), supervising global affairs and directing the Chinese branch of the company. Heo Hyun had previously studied at the University of Fudan in China before joining YG Entertainment, where he managed Big Bang’s activities in the Chinese market.
Heo Hyun’s appointment raised indignation due to his role in the chat scandal of the Sun Burning group, which involved celebrities such as Jung Joon Young and Choi Jong Hoon.
In March 2016, Heo Hyun joined Jung Joon Young, Choi Jong Hoon and others in Daegu, where they met women in a club and subsequently committed a sexual attack in a hotel room. Heo Hyun was offending on charges of forced harassment and subsequently sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, together with:
- 80 hours of sexual violence treatment program
- 160 hours of service to the community
Although Heo Hyun appealed, the upper courts confirmed the original sentence, underlining that they had never received forgiveness from the victim.
Musem defended his decision, stating that the criminal history of Heo Hyun and his role in the company’s foreign sector were “separate issues”. In a statement, Heo Hyun himself said he was committed to helping Mushem to grow in a “unicorn company” in the K-Content field.
However, the experts in the sector and Netizen are expressing a strong opposition. An entertainment expert observed: “Musem focuses on the artist’s IP companies. Which agency would have entrusted their intellectual property to someone associated with the Sun Burning scandal?”
The recourse highlights the current sensitivity that surrounds the scandal of the sun on fire, which remains one of the most famous events in the recent K-pop story. Many claim that appointing someone with such a judicial box for a leadership role risks serious damage to the company’s reputation.
Sources: Dispatch, Nate
