Kakao Overtakes HYBE as South Korea’s Top Entertainment Group by Revenue

South Korea’s entertainment industry has a new leader. According to the latest 2025 entertainment industry report from Korean corporate analysis firm CEO Score, HYBE, which held the top spot for years, has been overtaken by Kakao Entertainment. Driven by SM Entertainment’s strong performance, Kakao became South Korea’s highest-revenue entertainment group, while the report also highlighted the major agencies’ biggest revenue drivers.

The report analyzed 30 entertainment companies registered with Korea’s Popular Culture and Arts Information System. It found that seven entertainment companies under Kakao posted combined 2025 revenue of 1.2564 trillion won, accounting for about 27% of total revenue among the top 30 entertainment firms and surpassing HYBE for the No. 1 spot in South Korea’s entertainment sector.

SM Entertainment was the biggest contributor to Kakao’s rise, generating 813 billion won in annual revenue, up 22.6% from the previous year. The report said aespa and NCT delivered strong results through world tours and brisk sales of official merchandise, becoming key drivers of SM’s revenue growth.

Starship Entertainment, also under Kakao Entertainment, recorded about 127 billion won in revenue on the strength of activities by IVE and MONSTA X, further lifting the group’s overall performance.

HYBE, by contrast, fell to second place with 2025 revenue of 1.0247 trillion won. Although BIGHIT MUSIC, PLEDIS Entertainment and BELIFT LAB continued to generate substantial revenue, HYBE’s overall performance was not enough to beat Kakao Entertainment.

The report showed that BIGHIT MUSIC remained HYBE’s top-earning label, with annual revenue of about 320 billion won. BTS was still its largest source of income, helping BIGHIT MUSIC increase revenue by 24.7% year over year.

PLEDIS Entertainment ranked second among HYBE labels, with SEVENTEEN and rookie boy group TWS supporting annual revenue of about 211 billion won. But as some SEVENTEEN members began enlisting in the military, reducing group activities, and the company increased investment in TWS, PLEDIS posted the steepest revenue decline among major entertainment companies.

BELIFT LAB generated about 113 billion won in revenue through activities by ENHYPEN and ILLIT, continuing to contribute to HYBE’s income.

JYP Entertainment ranked third, with annual revenue of 684 billion won. The report said the company’s results were driven mainly by TWICE and Stray Kids, whose global tours and official merchandise sales continued to make them JYP’s most important revenue sources.

YG Entertainment placed fourth with annual revenue of 339 billion won, up 71.3% from the previous year, the strongest growth rate among the four major entertainment companies. BLACKPINK’s world tour was the biggest contributor, while BABYMONSTER and TREASURE also brought in steady revenue through album releases and concerts.

Overall, Kakao Entertainment, HYBE, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment generated a combined 3.3039 trillion won in revenue in 2025, accounting for 71% of total revenue among South Korea’s top 30 entertainment companies. Kakao has officially broken HYBE’s yearslong hold on the No. 1 position.