YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk Promises Big Bang Will Be Around For Years To Come
When the K-pop sensation Big Bang first debuted on YG Entertainment in 2006, the record label's co-founder and CEO Yang Hyun Suk promised the group would be around for a long time.
In an interview earlier this week with the Korean publication OSEN, he doubled down on that promise.
"It's already been eight years since Big Bang made their debut, but their solidarity and skills are still growing continuously," Yang said.
"At the time of their debut, I said that Big Bang will be a group that will be around for fans for a long time. I've kept that promise so far and will certainly keep it in the future."
With all five members of Big Bang releasing solo material in 2013, some fans had to wonder if a breakup was imminent, an idea the YG CEO takes personally.
"There are many cases where a group is disbanded only within a few years from debut," Yang said.
"In fact, [my former band] Seo Taiji and Boys retired four years after our debut, so we had to say good-bye to our fans, unfortunately. That will never happen to Big Bang."
The K-pop music mogul cited the group's recent media attention from the West as proof the group is more popular than ever.
"As time goes by, Big Bang is more and more recognized on the global stage like the United States and Europe, going beyond Asia," Yang said.
"America's mainstream media like the New York Times and Billboard cover Big Bang and compliment the quality of their music frequently."
He also discussed his role in the making of the group's first full-length Korean album in six years, reportedly to be written primarily by the group's frontman and rapper G-Dragon, which is slated for release this summer.
"It's been long since Big Bang made decisions about their own album independently," he said. "My role is just to be like salt for them, giving some words of advice and the support they need."
