Vlast CEO Dismisses Rumours Of HYBE Taking Over Plave K-pop Group

In view of the recent speculations around HYBE taking over his company, Lee Sung-gu, Vlast’s CEO, cleared the air and explained that both HYBE and YG Plus have invested small stakes to help with Plave, the virtual idol group’s expansion plans. At a recent press conference, Lee Sung-gu began by sharing the plan for the group’s expansion into overseas markets and revealing the investment details. “I don’t know if it will be this year, but what the company is most focused on is Playve’s expansion into overseas markets. We hope that it will receive a lot of love not only in Korea but also overseas, so we are focusing on preparing for that,” he said.

Vlast CEO Dismisses Rumours Of HYBE Taking Over PLAVE

Dismissing rumours about the virtual K-pop boy group being taken over, Lee Sung-gu said, “We received investment from HYBE and YG Plus. There were rumours that HYBE would take over, but that’s not true. Both companies invested a small stake, and the purpose of our investment was not because we needed money but because we needed a lot of help in expanding overseas.”

He further added that the investment would help accelerate PLAVE’s overseas expansion and that the companies are working hard to help with the idol activities outside Korea. “I cannot reveal the exact investment amount because I have not yet received permission from the investors,” he continued as quoted by the local media.

For the unversed, produced by Vlast, PLAVE is a virtual K-pop group that marked its official debut in March 2023. It consists of five virtual humans including Yejun, Noah, Bamby, Eunho, and Hamin. Sung-gu joined the company through open recruitment in 2002 and has worked in more than 50 VFX super works.

Vlast CEO Reveals The Secrets Of Plave’s Success

During the press conference, Sung-gu credited several factors to the success of Plave. “When we think about it, there were many people who made similar attempts since we were preparing to produce virtual idols the year before last. There were many different opinions, but we decided to eliminate humanists,” he said.

He also recalled the first solo fan concert, Hello, Asterum! that was held in April this year, adding that the number of concurrent users reached around 70,000. “I am very satisfied with the concert, and the members said it was a really good performance, so I plan to continue doing concerts,” he added.