YG’s Stock Surges as YANG HYUN SUK Announces New Strategy… Top Anticipation Lies with BLACKPINK
[일간스포츠=김지혜 기자] YANG HYUN SUK, Executive Producer of YG Entertainment (hereafter YG), has announced a change in the company’s operational system, leading to a surge in YG’s stock price. The new strategy is to grow the value of existing intellectual property (IP) by having multiple artists release multiple albums and to accelerate the debut of rookies to create new IP. This has heightened expectations in the capital market.
In a recently released interview video, Executive Producer YANG revealed that BABYMONSTER will release a pre-release single “Hot Sauce” on July 1, followed by a second single in September, and a mini album on October 1, keeping up an unrelenting pace of activities. TREASURE will also release a new mini album on September 1 and kick off a new world tour in October. Notably, YANG emphasized that TREASURE will be supported to release more than two albums each year. This strategy is interpreted as aiming to strengthen artist activities, expand the global fandom, and lay the foundation for mid- to long-term monetization.
In the past, YG focused on making its IP, such as BIGBANG and BLACKPINK, world-class through digital music and concerts. As a result, comeback cycles naturally became longer, with some groups going a full year without releasing an album. After returning as producer in 2023, YANG HYUN SUK declared that he would address internal issues, and he has been actively implementing changes since this year.
The most noticeable change came this January when YG announced it was exiting the actor management business. Despite having a star-studded lineup including Kim Hee-ae, Cha Seung-won, Yoo Seung-ho, Lee Sung-kyung, Yoo In-na, and Joo Woo-jae, the decision was a strategic move to “focus on core business.” YG began by seriously expanding the scale of its youngest group, BABYMONSTER.
BABYMONSTER, just nine months after debut, embarked on its first world tour across 20 cities including in the U.S. and Japan this past January. As a result, concert revenue and merchandise (MD) sales boosted YG’s performance, with the company recording consolidated sales of 100.2 billion KRW and operating profit of 9.5 billion KRW in the first quarter of 2025. Sales rose 14.7% compared to the same period last year, and operating profit turned from a deficit of around 7 billion KRW last year to a surplus. Sixth-year group TREASURE also contributed to the results through the release of the special mini album “PLEASURE” and the fan concert “Special Moment.”
In the second half of the year, diversification of the IP portfolio will accelerate further, with the launch of new boy groups and girl groups becoming more concrete. Executive Producer YANG stated, “Currently, YG has two male teams and two female teams preparing for debut, and next year, I definitely want to launch one boy group.” One of the new girl groups has already confirmed its four members, and one member, EVELLIE, has already been unveiled. EVELLIE is an all-rounder with both vocals and rap, drawing comparisons to BLACKPINK’s JENNIE. The rest of the members will be revealed one by one later.
YG’s method of unveiling trainees before their official debut dates back to the days of BLACKPINK. The pop dance cover videos that BLACKPINK showcased before their debut are still frequently talked about today, and BABYMONSTER member AHYEON gained attention when her cover performance of “Dangerously” was shouted out by the original artist, Charlie Puth. Such promotions aim to secure a fanbase early on and reflect Executive Producer YANG’s confidence.
Among YG’s plans for the second half of the year, the one receiving the most anticipation from the public and shareholders is “BLACKPINK.” BLACKPINK is set to release new music alongside a full-group tour in July. YANG also confirmed BLACKPINK’s comeback, saying, “I think we’ll be able to deliver the news of BLACKPINK’s new release soon.” BLACKPINK’s upcoming full-group album will be the first in about 2 years and 8 months since “Born Pink,” released on September 16, 2022.
Currently, BLACKPINK has reportedly finished shooting the album jacket and is wrapping up recording. It’s said that TEDDY, who has produced BLACKPINK’s songs since debut, is highly likely to be working on the title track.
The stock price continues its upward trend. On May 26, when BLACKPINK’s comeback news was made official, YG’s stock closed at 80,600 KRW, up 2.15% from the previous trading day. On the 29th, it hit a 52-week high of 82,900 KRW, and on the 30th, it soared to 83,400 KRW at one point during trading.
In addition, as the scale of BLACKPINK’s world tour continues to expand, YG’s steep growth is expected to continue. With 13 additional shows added beyond the already announced schedule, the tour will now cover around 31 dates over approximately seven months, drawing about 1.8 million people. Starting in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on July 5–6, they will perform in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and New York. Considering that their previous tour from 2022 lasted about a year with 66 shows and 1.8 million attendees, the per-show scale has effectively doubled.
Lee Ki-hoon, an analyst at Hana Securities, expressed optimism, saying, “As we’ve already seen from consecutive large-scale performance surprises, it’s worth continuing to watch the changed and evolving YG.”
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