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BTS’s Comeback Feared To Be Testing Grounds For HYBE’s New “Scarcity Model”
HYBE’s CEO talked about the new business model.
News
Serah S. Cherrie
15 hours ago

With BTS making their comeback to the music industry as a full group after years, anticipation is at an all-time high. This comeback also might just launch HYBE’s new “experience model,” as revealed by CEO Jason Jaesang Lee.

In his New Year’s address on January 2, Lee stated that he wanted to begin “full-scale profit generation” based on the “HYBE 2.0” foundation established in 2025. He emphasized that in 2026, the top priority of HYBE is to secure the maximum profit. In relation to this, he mentioned that “scarcity” would be the core keyword for HYBE’s fandom business sector.

    "Scarcity is an important element that enhances the added value of the fan experience. To innovate future fandom businesses, we will design and test an integrated online and offline experience model based on scarcity." — Jason Jaesang Lee

Though Lee didn’t expand much on what kind of “scarcity” model HYBE might be following, the most common practices that netizens assume might be put into place include a smaller number of concerts and appearances, increased VIP-only access to events, gatekeeping new releases, and so on. And industry insiders believe that BTS’s latest comeback will serve as the testing ground for this new business model. This prediction is based on the fact that their absence from the industry as a full group over the past three years has already created a certain scarcity in their fanbase, thereby providing the appropriate circumstances to test possible new strategies.

Regardless of which artist HYBE decides to test its new strategy on, netizens have expressed their concern over the implications. Some also wondered what HYBE would be doing differently, given that multiple K-Pop companies already operate on the “scarcity” model.

As controversy over “price gouging” at local accommodations spread ahead of BTS’s concert in Busan, the Busan city government has taken a tough stance.

On the 17th, the city of Busan announced the full-scale operation of a “Price Gouging QR Report System,” which allows tourists to directly report unfair increases in accommodation fees. Domestic and international tourists can scan a QR code to report, and the information is immediately forwarded to the relevant district and affiliated agencies via the Korea Tourism Organization. The city distributed informational stickers and posters to lodging establishments and also posted related banners on its website.

Busan plans to form joint inspection teams with district offices and start on-site inspections next week, focusing on accommodations reported online. If unfair practices such as charging excessive fees or failing to honor booking conditions are detected, these will be reflected in hotel grading evaluations. In addition, a review meeting involving related agencies will be held to discuss measures against excessive accommodation fee hikes.

This measure comes in response to repeated complaints about sharp increases in lodging prices surrounding the BTS concerts scheduled in Busan on June 12-13. In fact, some accommodations near Haeundae Station raised their nightly rates from the usual ₩70,000 KRW (about $47.50 USD) to ₩300,000 KRW (about $204 USD) to as high as ₩1.20 million KRW (about $814 USD) during the concert, and fees were found to have increased 4 to 10 times in other areas such as Dongnae District and Gijang County. There were also claims that some accommodations canceled existing reservations to charge higher prices.

Once the concert venue is finalized, the city of Busan plans to provide information via social media about accommodation clusters with good access to the concert hall and public transportation to alleviate lodging demand concentration.

Park Hyung Jun, mayor of Busan, said, “We will prevent unfair accommodation transactions in advance by combining the Price Gouging QR Report System with on-site inspections,” and “We will mobilize all available administrative resources to support the successful hosting of this concert.”

Earlier, President Lee Jae Myung shared a related article on his X (formerly Twitter) on the 16th and criticized it as “a vicious abuse that disrupts order throughout the market and causes great harm to everyone.” He stressed, “If price gouging is detected, measures must ensure that the loss incurred is far greater than the unfair profits obtained.”

Under the current Public Health Control Act, accommodation providers must adhere to posted lodging fees, and violations can result in imprisonment of up to six months or fines up to ₩5.00 million KRW (about $3,390 USD).