Thai K-pop fans’ online protest against Hybe intensifies

K-pop fans in Thailand, one of the strongest K-pop fan bases globally, are protesting against Hybe following the leak of an internal document that reportedly contained unverified rumors about YG Entertainment's Blackpink and its Thai member, Lisa, as well as numerous other artists.

The so-called “music industry report,” disclosed during a recent National Assembly audit in Seoul, allegedly criticized Blackpink’s achievements and suggested that Lisa’s success at the MTV Video Music Awards may have been inflated by “suspicious voting activity,” which the report attributed to intervention by her “internal fandom.” "Internal fandom" is thought to refer to Lisa's Thai fans.

The document has sparked public outcry in Thailand, where Lisa is widely celebrated as a national icon. Local Thai media extensively covered the controversy, fueling the anger of fans who then mobilized online, demanding a formal apology from Hybe with the hashtag #HybeApologizeToLISA trending on social media platform X.

Kasidhat Gorman, a 35-year-old Thai K-pop fan, said posts on X and Facebook sharing Thai news reports about the leaked document and Hybe’s alleged attempt to discredit Lisa are spreading rapidly.

“Hybe’s document issue really blew up when the part mentioning Blackpink and Lisa surfaced,” Gorman said, Thursday. “You don’t touch Lisa here. She’s a national hero in Thailand, like BTS is in Korea.”

Another Thai fan, Warut Naknaen, 24, shared a similar sentiment.

“I’ve been following the news about them (Hybe) for a year when the issue with NewJeans and Illit began trending. I wasn’t really sure which rumors were true or false, because you can’t really trust the media all the time, as even in Thailand, fans of both groups don’t like each other,” Naknaen said. “But with the recent news exposing Hybe, that they were ‘talking’ about other bands in the industry and Blackpink and Lisa, now I feel like Hybe and Bang (Hybe Chairman) are evil.”

“Thai people are already into K-pop in general, so when it comes to Lisa, any bad things about her, Thai people will defend her right away,” Naknaen added.

Earlier this year, Hybe faced backlash from Thai K-pop fans when, in April, Hybe subsidiary Belift Lab named the fan club of its new girl group Illit “Lillys,” similar to Lisa’s fan club name, “Lillies.” Lisa’s fans accused Belift Lab of appropriating the name, prompting the agency to issue an apology and pledge to select a different name for Illit’s fan club.

This is not the first time Thai people have voiced frustrations with Korea, too.

Last November, many Thai nationals, including K-pop fans, protested against visiting Korea after reports emerged that travelers from Thailand were frequently denied entry at Korean airports despite holding valid documents.

As stricter immigration policies led to these rejections, hashtags such as “Ban travel to Korea” and “Korean immigration office” trended on X in Thailand, with over a million posts in just one week.