A “one-top” K-Pop platform that encompasses major K-pop artists such as BTS under HYBE is born. The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 7th that there were few concerns about competition restrictions on the business merger between Naver and Weverse Company, which provides fan community platform services such as K-pop singers, and shares acquisition methods.
This is to increase synergy effect in operating the fan community platform by integrating V Live, which has strengths in live video services, into Weverse, which has strengths in producing celebrity-related contents.
Naver has provided real-time video contents such as K-pop singers through the V-LIVE platform, and HYBE is an entertainment agency, which is a member of BTS, and is running a Weverse Company as a subsidiary for online fan community management. Weverse Company plans to build a new fan community platform that integrates Weverse and VLive after combining this, and Naver became the second largest shareholder (49%) of Weverse Company, and HYBE (51%), the largest shareholder, and together, the Weverse Company’s integrated platform will be jointly operated.
As a result of examining whether there is a possibility that competition in the related market could be restricted by the integration of the online fan community platforms of both companies, it determined that there were few concerns about competition restrictions because there is a number of competing platforms already exist in the industry.
Source: biz.chosun.com
