<\/p>\ncontroversy centered on Jungkook.<\/p>\n
<\/a> In recent weeks, the youngest BTS member was swept up in dating rumors with Winter of SM Entertainment\u2019s popular girl group Aespa. Claims that the two idols shared matching tattoos and that Winter mentioned Jungkook\u2019s legal name, Jeon Jung-kook, during a livestream intensified speculation.<\/p>\n
What fueled fan frustration was the response \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 from the two agencies. Instead of denying or confirming the rumors, Big Hit Music and SM Entertainment issued identical statements calling for respect for the artists\u2019 private lives.<\/p>\n
Within hours, anger spread among some Army. Protest trucks appeared outside Hybe\u2019s headquarters in Seoul with messages reading: \u201cAfter waiting for military service, all Army received was betrayal,\u201d \u201cStop damaging the team,\u201d and \u201cIf you won\u2019t remove the couple tattoo, step aside from BTS activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
A separate truck was sent to SM Entertainment\u2019s headquarters in Seoul, displaying messages such as \u201cErase the tattoo and explain yourself\u201d and \u201cIf you want to date loudly, live as Kim Min-jeong, not as Aespa\u2019s Winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
SM Entertainment announced it would pursue legal action over malicious posts.<\/p>\n
In August, member Jimin also faced renewed dating speculation with actress Song Da-eun \u2014 a three-year-old rumor. Big Hit Music had maintained silence, citing privacy, until Song herself released security camera footage showing the two meeting in an elevator. With the situation escalating, the agency issued its first detailed response, acknowledging that the two \u201chad positive feelings and remained in contact in the past but are not currently dating.\u201d<\/p>\n
The controversies eventually prompted RM to livestream and speak candidly about the group\u2019s internal challenges. The leader said he no longer feels able to \u201crepresent the team,\u201d noting that while he served as the group\u2019s center until around 2017 to 2018, the role no longer fits the current moment.<\/p>\n
He also revealed that the members had contemplated extreme decisions, saying he had \u201cthought tens of thousands of times about whether we should disband or pause the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Facing criticism over the group\u2019s lack of activities during the second half of 2025, RM said, \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to waste that time. We\u2019re sorry for making you wait, and sorry for giving excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
His rare remarks underscored the pressure BTS faces as both individuals and a collective trying to maintain momentum amid military duties, solo careers and overwhelming public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Beyond the group itself, Hybe has also been mired in company-wide disruptions.<\/p>\n
NewJeans, the flagship girl group of Hybe subsidiary Ador, unilaterally <\/p>\nterminated their contract in November 2024<\/p>\n
<\/a>, leading to a year-long legal standoff. While all five members have since expressed their intention to return, three members reportedly conveyed this through unofficial channels, fueling ongoing controversy.<\/p>\n
Hybe founder and Chair Bang Si-hyuk is also under investigation by prosecutors and police over allegations of fraudulent transactions related to the company\u2019s initial public offering in 2020. Though the inquiry remains ongoing, the case has added another layer of uncertainty to the conglomerate overseeing BTS\u2019 comeback. THE KOREA HERALD\/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEOUL – BTS member Suga\u2019s completion of his mandatory military service in June fueled anticipation for the group\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-311385","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}