[Exclusive] Mastermind behind Twice’s global success to helm JYP USA

K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment’s newly established US arm will be led by the person largely responsible for the global success of the label’s girl group Twice.

“Shin Hyun-kuk has been tapped to helm US operations. He is a chief director of one of the four artist management and marketing teams and JYP Three Sixty’s chief executive officer,” a JYP Entertainment official told The Korea Herald Tuesday evening.

The official said JYP USA is currently “setting up offices in Los Angeles and New York” simultaneously, and that the company was established last month.

While serving as head of JYP USA, Shin, 41, will continue in his role as the team’s chief director at JYP and CEO of JYP Three Sixty as well, the official explained.

Shin joined the K-pop powerhouse in 2015 as the leader of a new business team focused on Twice.

Shin’s team at JYP is currently in charge of Twice and the label’s founder Park Jin-young. The team was also in charge of singer-actor Suzy, before her contract expired in 2019. The team is responsible for all aspects of business concerning Twice and Park, being involved in management, marketing and planning.

In August 2021, when the company launched JYP Three Sixty, a subsidiary that centers on the platform business, linking merchandise and other IP to global fandoms, Shin was appointed to the top position.

Before joining JYP, Shin worked at Naver Music and Samsung Electronics, industry sources said.

JYP set up JYP USA to secure a foothold in the North American market where the K-pop base continues to expand. The latest move is the agency’s effort at a new strategic evolution, which will help JYP-managed artists advance into the US market as well as discover and nurture new talents in the region.

Last month, JYP announced its expanded strategic partnership with Republic Records, a major US music label owned by Universal Music Group, under which the US music agency will support JYP artists, including Stray Kids and Itzy, on the global stage.

The two sides began working together in 2020 on expanding Twice’s reach in the US. The nine-member girl group’s third studio album, “Formula of Love: T+O=<3,” landed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 last November.

Twice released its first English-language single, “The Feels,” in 2021, which debuted at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Last month’s US leg of its world tour, which saw the group performing in Los Angeles, Oakland, Fort Worth, Atlanta and New York, was a sold-out affair.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)