Yang Hyun-suk

Yang Hyun-suk (Korean: 양현석, born January 9, 1970^[1]) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the executive producer and chairman of YG Entertainment, the fourth-largest record company in South Korea.

In this Korean name, the family name is Yang.

Yang Hyun-suk
Yang in 2016
Born	(1970-01-09) January 9, 1970 (age 55) Seoul, South Korea
Other names	YG
Occupations	Entrepreneur Record executive rapper dancer record producer
Known for	Co-founding YG Entertainment
Spouse	Lee Eun-ju (m. 2010)
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	Pop
Instruments	Vocals drums
Years active	1992–2019 2023–present
Labels	YG Entertainment
Formerly of	Seo Taiji and Boys
Website	yanggoon.com
Korean name
Hangul	양현석
Hanja	梁鉉錫
Revised Romanization	Yang Hyeonseok
McCune–Reischauer	Yang Hyŏnsŏk

Career

1992–1996: Seo Taiji & Boys

Main article: Seo Taiji and Boys

Seo Taiji & Boys was formed in 1991 with Seo Taiji, Lee Juno and Yang Hyun-seok.^{[citation needed]} Yang said he first met Seo when the musician came to him to learn how to dance when Yang was a dancer (Yang danced in the Korean dance crew "Spark"(which is considered the first Korean breaking dance group) and in the dancing group "Park Nam Jung [ko] and friends(박남정과 친구들)").^[2] "Blown away" by his music, Yang offered to join the group and they later recruited Lee who was one of the top dancers in Korea.^[3] The group was influential on the Korean music scene, famous for their single, "Nan Arayo" (Korean: "난 알아요", "I Know").^{[citation needed]} The group received criticism for some of their albums, most notably for the song, "Shidaeyugam" (Korean: 시대유감, "Regret of the Times"), to which fan backlash led to the abolition of the Pre-censorship law in 1996. The group disbanded in 1996 and each member went on to pursue solo careers.

1996–2019: YG Entertainment

Main article: YG Entertainment

In 1996, he established YG Entertainment and released his first solo album which featured a song composed by Seo Taiji.^{[citation needed]} This was their first collaboration since the breakup.^{[citation needed]} Yang Hyun-Suk has produced hugely successful artists through his company, most notably Jinusean, 1TYM, Wheesung, Gummy, Seven, Big Bang, 2NE1, Winner, iKon, Tablo, Epik High, Lee Hi, Blackpink, Treasure, BabyMonster, and Psy.

Due to recent controversies involving the Burning Sun scandal and other allegations, Yang Hyun-suk announced his plans to step down from all of his positions at YG Entertainment, and his brother Yang Min-suk announced his decision to resign as CEO of YG Entertainment on June 14, 2019.^[4][5]

2019–present: Conviction and YG return

On December 22, 2022, Yang was acquitted of a charge of threatening an informant.^{[6][unreliable source?]} On November 8, 2023, his acquittal for threatening the informant was overturned by the Seoul High Court, finding that he had abused his status at the company to coerce trainees into reversing police testimonies.^[7] He was sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for 1 year.^[7] A previous acquittal for blackmail was upheld.^[7]

In December 2023, Yang discussed his "deep involvement in every aspect of BabyMonster's production", and how the youth of the members resonated with him because he had a similarly-aged daughter.^{[8][unreliable source?]} In May 2024, YG Entertainment released a video featuring Yang announcing upcoming plans for BabyMonster and Treasure.^[9]

Personal life

Yang began dating former Swi.T member Lee Eun-ju in 2001, and they married in 2010.^[10] They have two children together, born in 2010 and 2012.^{[11][12][unreliable source?]}

Discography

See also: Seo Taiji and Boys § Discography

Albums

Title	Album details
Yang Hyun-suk[13]	Released: April 6, 1998 Label: YG Entertainment Formats: CD, Digital download

Filmography

TV Series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2009	Superstar K	Himself	Judge	[14]
2011	K-pop Star season 1		Judge for YG Entertainment	[15]
2012	K-pop Star 2			[16]
2013	K-pop Star 3			[17]
	Win: Who Is Next?		YG Entertainment CEO, Director	[citation needed]
2014	Mix & Match			[citation needed]
	K-pop Star 4		Judge for YG Entertainment	[citation needed]
2015	K-pop Star 5			[citation needed]
2016	K-pop Star 6: The Last Chance			[citation needed]
2017	Mix Nine		Judge	[18]
2018	YG Future Strategy Office		Recurring character	[citation needed]
2018	YG Treasure Box		Judge	[19]

Accolades

Awards

The name of the award ceremony, year presented, award category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the award

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / work	Result	Ref.
Gaon Chart Music Awards	2013	Producer of the Year	Yang Hyun-suk	Won	[20]
	2014			Won
	2016			Won
SBS Gayo Daejeon	2003	Record Producer of the Year		Won

State honors

Name of country or organization, year given, and name of honor

Country or organization	Year	Honor	Ref.
Korea Brain Research Institute	2013	Korea's Representative Power Brain	[20]
South Korea[note 1]	2011	Presidential Commendation	[24]

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Billboard	2014	International Power Players	Placed	[20]

Notes

1. Honors are given at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards, arranged by the Korea Creative Content Agency and hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.^[21][22] They are awarded to those who have contributed to the arts and South Korea's pop culture.^[23]