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Billboard President Mike Van (left) and Billboard Korea CEO & publisher Kim Yuna pose at a press conference for the company's launch in Seoul, April 15. (Billboard Korea) |
Billboard Korea’s much-anticipated June inaugural issue has yet to hit the stands, with some speculating the launch has been delayed to August.
"Billboard K Vol.1 is scheduled to be published in June. With the release of Billboard K Vol.1, you can consider our official launch to have begun,” Billboard Korea CEO and publisher Kim Yuna said at a press conference marking the launch of the magazine on April 15.
However, June has come and gone with no sign of the inaugural issue. And Billboard Korea has yet to make any official announcement regarding the delay.
The last update on Billboard Korea’s account on social media platform X was in April, sharing news of the launch event, while its Instagram posts have been restricted to updates on K-pop musicians’ new releases.
Billboard Korea declined to comment on the issue but said it will make an announcement related to it on Friday.
An industry source said the same day that Billboard Korea had failed to staff the organization and postponed its launch to August.
Billboard President Mike Van’s visit to Seoul in April had worked to persuade the public that the Korean operation of the music media giant would successfully establish itself this time, after previous repeated failures.
Van raised expectations for the new venture by signing business agreements with major Korean companies such as Naver Pay, CJ ENM and Kakao Entertainment during his visit. The new Billboard Korea operates as a subsidiary of California-based Billboard, under its direct management.
Previous ventures in 2009 and 2017 under licensing deals failed in Korea, purportedly due to their more independent operations.
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Billboard President Mike Van (left) speaks at a press conference for the company's launch in Seoul, April 15. (Billboard Korea) |
Billboard Korea first launched in 2009, but the endeavor ended in 2014 when the then-CEO faced embezzlement charges, leading to the company’s closure. The second attempt in 2017 involved partnerships with several domestic companies and efforts to produce broadcast content, but it also quietly ceased operations.
Aiming to dispel any doubts about the viability of the new venture, Billboard Korea’s Kim Yuna emphasized during the April press conference that the current launch was unrelated to previous attempts and would proceed under the direct control of the Billboard headquarters.
“We would like to clarify that since our owner group, Penske Media Corp., acquired Billboard in 2020, we have no connection with the previous companies. As President Mike Van mentioned, Billboard Korea will proceed under the control of the headquarters," Kim said at the time.
The failure to launch the first issue as scheduled despite such assurances has only fueled skepticism and unease.
