[DISC] A new CEO at CCM?

[Uncle fan]

I read an article the other day that CCM would be getting a new CEO starting in January. Has anyone heard anything more about this? I'm curious how this would affect the girls' overloaded schedule and their entire concept. In my opinion they are the biggest thing CCM has so they will surely affected by the change? Is there is any news on this, or did I get a false bit of news?

[CptFantasy]

http://en.ccment.com/?page_id=2143

According to CCM's official page, the new CEO is Dongjin Byun.

Seems like a fairly significant event to fly under the radar so it's weird not to hear any news about it.

[Scatter_88mil]

Here's a photo of the guy, if you're interested. I tried searching for his profile on Naver, though no such luck. Came up with a blank, save for a Goryeo University professor who has the same name. Looks like a chubbier version of that old nut.

[smilingdawn]

Well it's about time! Hopefully this guy can do a better job than Kim Kwangsoo... although in my opinion, it would be hard to do worse

[Mark]

Kim Kwang Soo has made questionable decisions regarding his artists, but also remember, regardless of the scandals, he's lead T-ara and their staff to stardom. He made Core Contents Media a music-focused company. They consistently create great music and it's easy to forget that amongst the various mistakes he and his staff have made.

Also, the Q&A section is purely for Diadem-related questions. Moved to Discussions forum.

[xbot]

This could be good or bad, for all his failings you can sense that KKS really cares about T-ara. Just imagine any other CEO will bring a group back just a month after a controversy instead of benching them for a year or so.. the problem is I think he cared too much and couldn't leave a good thing alone as he constantly tweaked & tinkered every little thing about T-ara (Don't know if he still does it, but he used to check how the girls look through mobile phone cam every time before they go on stage remember?). In the recent interviews the members said KKS was really hit hard by the scandal and felt really guilty towards T-ara (didn't they said he even cried while reading the nasty comments?)... Did anyone noticed that he also visited the Christmas charity event to look on the girls?

I just wish the new guy will be as loyal to T-ara and as good in selecting the music & concepts we love but with a better management skills, business sense & a lot more media savvy (despite his musical genius, public relations-wise KKS is a clueless wreck). KKS also had a problem with favoring a few members too much so also hope this Byun guy is the one behind Boram's recent push.. 'cause I totally support that.

[Mark]

This could be good or bad, for all his failings you can sense that KKS really cares about T-ara. Just imagine any other CEO will bring a group back just a month after a controversy instead of benching them for a year or so.. the problem is I think he cared too much and couldn't leave a good thing alone as he constantly tweaked & tinkered every little thing about T-ara (Don't know if he still does it, but he used to check how the girls look through mobile phone cam every time before they go on stage remember?). In the recent interviews the members said KKS was really hit hard by the scandal and felt really guilty towards T-ara (didn't they said he even cried while reading the nasty comments?)... Did anyone noticed that he also visited the Christmas charity event to look on the girls?

I just wish the new guy will be as loyal to T-ara and as good in selecting the music & concepts we love but with a better management skills, business sense & a lot more media savvy (despite his musical genius, public relations-wise KKS is a clueless wreck). KKS also had a problem with favoring a few members too much so also hope this Byun guy is the one behind Boram's recent push.. 'cause I totally support that.

This is speculative and can also be viewed in a business perspective. What if he did so because of profits? It's harsh, maybe even cruel, to push them out towards a public that hated them (at that point in time). We have no definitive proof that's the case but the alternative has no other evidence either.

[Scatter_88mil]

This could be good or bad, for all his failings you can sense that KKS really cares about T-ara. Just imagine any other CEO will bring a group back just a month after a controversy instead of benching them for a year or so.. the problem is I think he cared too much and couldn't leave a good thing alone as he constantly tweaked & tinkered every little thing about T-ara (Don't know if he still does it, but he used to check how the girls look through mobile phone cam every time before they go on stage remember?). In the recent interviews the members said KKS was really hit hard by the scandal and felt really guilty towards T-ara (didn't they said he even cried while reading the nasty comments?)... Did anyone noticed that he also visited the Christmas charity event to look on the girls?

If he really cared about T-ara this whole time then...

1. He wouldn't have worked them like slaves for nearly 3 years non-stop, without a single vacation until March 2012 (which what, only lasted a week?) - Soyeon herself stated this long ago.

2. Didn't have members performing despite injuries and advice from doctors that said the exact opposite.

3. Wouldn't have openly threatened the whole group in public right in front of the papers and pitted them in a Battle Royale-esque work environment that even makes other idol groups look like they're having a walk in the park.

4. Wouldn't have sent his own goons to the news outlet Sports Seoul and basically threatened them - and that triggered the latter to make articles that ran down on N4 as a result. In Korea, that sort of behavior is something only mobsters do today.

For all his failures, he deserved to be removed from the company and it's only merely rightful that karma bit him back in the ass that he's butthurt and cries a river over negative comments. And even this is strongly doubtful, since there have been many times KKS had been embroiled in a controversy related to his own actions and his groups i.e. SeeYa, SG Wannabe and so forth - plus what T-ara also says to the press at times has to be taken with a grain of salt. For a guy who's been around in the industry for over 30 years, you'd think he'd be a lot more tougher and colder in the inside.

Just because he visited them in the charity or made them a well-known group does not mean he should be excused for his horrendous actions or be looked with sympathy, nor does it even mean he cares for the girls in a personal sense. Like any K-pop CEO out there, all he cares about his profit and self-image in front of other big players no matter how unethical he has to get to achieve it. There's no disputing it, if you look at T-ara's record of almost nonstop promotions in the past and the tendency to release repackages numerous repackages rather than taking a bit of a break and focusing on studio albums.

Try imagining being in T-ara's shoes for a moment. Would you want a boss like him for years?

[Vice_devil]

4. Wouldn't have sent his own goons to the news outlet Sports Seoul and basically threatened them - and that triggered the latter to make articles that ran down on N4 as a result. In Korea, that sort of behavior is something only mobsters do today.

Do you have a source on this one? Not that I don't believe you but this is the first time I hear of this.

[Mark]

Do you have a source on this one? Not that I don't believe you but this is the first time I hear of this.

http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/11160934.html

Not sure if the translation is accurate, but that's pretty much what happened if I recall correctly.

[Vice_devil]

^I see, thanks. Pretty deplorable even for KKS. Not that other companies don't try to influence what articles are written when it concerns them, but this is low and sloppy. Kuddos to the writer.

[Uncle fan]

Administrators I am sorry I started this in the wrong section. Rather than bashing KKS, I was just curious if I had misunderstood about the new CEO. Sorry for raising a tender issue with so many strong feelings still out there. Sorry Queens to you too for mentioning someone that can still raise a big controversy.

[Mark]

The discussion unfortunately devolved into another criticism of the previous CEO and didn't properly discuss anything about Byun Dong Jin. While we don't know his business principles yet, I'm assuming T-ara's concepts and schedules are largely going to be the same.

[SimonH]

So are there any news on what's going to happen to KKS? Maybe he'll be promoted to CEO of Mnet:/

[klutzzy123]

Although KKS overworked them and made quite many bad decisions, I think we shouldn't forget that under his influence the girls made it to where they are today. No doubt they are really hardworking but he deserves some credit. Overall I would say that he's very extreme a CEO.

Hopefully the new CEO would treat them well and lead them well

[Scatter_88mil]

So are there any news on what's going to happen to KKS? Maybe he'll be promoted to CEO of Mnet:/

Quick Google search should tell you that he's the CEO of CJ E&M/Mnet Media - but that's been on for quite some time (one could say the position of CEO in CCM was given to Mr. Byun so KKS can decide to focus more on the bigger parent of the company). The only folks who would be higher than him would be the big fellas in CJ Group itself, as E&M is one of their subsidiaries.

Although KKS overworked them and made quite many bad decisions, I think we shouldn't forget that under his influence the girls made it to where they are today. No doubt they are really hardworking but he deserves some credit. Overall I would say that he's very extreme a CEO.

Hopefully the new CEO would treat them well and lead them well

What you say probably could have been agreed upon had this been discussed in T-ara's more earlier years, when things were going relatively good and steady for them - but from mid-2011 and onwards, the cons of his management began to far outweigh the pros. Other bigger and popular groups with larger fandoms such as Big Bang and 2NE1 sure did not promote as heavily (nor on same intensity on similar time lengths) as T-ara did, but are still way above and their members are all well-known on a decent level (while in T-ara's case, it was an extreme case of playing favorites). Even SNSD had it better (after all, they did get short breaks/vacations every now and then even early on in their careers).

Sure, KKS's management did bring T-ara up to arguably the third biggest group in Korea, but the way it was done was simply put, far too costly on the girls themselves compared to what other groups of similar or bigger popularity had - and played one of biggest contributing factor to that scandal. And that is precisely why he, regardless of what good he did for them initially, should not be given credit regarding their overall career.

For T-ara's early successes yes, but overall, no.

[klutzzy123]

What you say probably could have been agreed upon had this been discussed in T-ara's more earlier years, when things were going relatively good and steady for them - but from mid-2011 and onwards, the cons of his management began to far outweigh the pros. Other bigger and popular groups with larger fandoms such as Big Bang and 2NE1 sure did not promote as heavily (nor on same intensity on similar time lengths) as T-ara did, but are still way above and their members are all well-known on a decent level (while in T-ara's case, it was an extreme case of playing favorites). Even SNSD had it better (after all, they did get short breaks/vacations every now and then even early on in their careers).

Sure, KKS's management did bring T-ara up to arguably the third biggest group in Korea, but the way it was done was simply put, far too costly on the girls themselves compared to what other groups of similar or bigger popularity had - and played one of biggest contributing factor to that scandal. And that is precisely why he, regardless of what good he did for them initially, should not be given credit regarding their overall career.

For T-ara's early successes yes, but overall, no.

Yea I would agree that it was really costly, the contribution that KKS made to the scandal. Just hope that the new CEO doesnt overwork them, as they might not have the vitality they did when they just debuted due to age and the workload they had over the years

[Mark]

This isn't a discussion about Kim Kwang Soo. This is a thread about the new CEO and T-ara's future. The practices of Kim Kwang Soo have been discussed to exhaustion already. Any further discussion of it and I will close the thread.

[Solin]

Hope that this new CEO will be more human and give T-ara more free time to rest.

[Silvershen]

This is great news for me, after all the crap I endured when KKS was CEO, I hope everything starts anew for a brighter future for T-ara and all the other CCM artists and celebrities. Very hard to tell the management style of the new CEO, but if he can just take a page out of all the other successful agencies (SM, YG, JYP, FNC, Cube) I think he could do no wrong.

[Grimlock]

Hope this guy finally makes T-ara crank out full studio albums rather than these bloated EPs. T-ara really needs to raise the bar if they want to stand out. A lot of my friends getting into Kpop have no idea who T-ara is.