Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
YG shares to recover from Seungri fiasco
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Share prices of the big three entertainment agencies are bouncing back from their recent crash following the sex and drug scandal involving K-pop boy band BIGBANG's singer Seungri.
The scandal widened and gripped the country with other singers, including Jung Joon-young and Roy Kim, being called in for questioning. Stock prices of SM, YG and JYP have since nosedived on the Seoul bourse.
The downtrend, however, now seems to be coming to an end as their shares are showing signs of recovery. Claiming their month-long fall has now fully reflected the market's pessimism, analysts also maintain their investment opinions on their share prices as “buy.”
YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk
By Jhoo Dong-chan
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), Sunday, share prices of YG Entertainment closed at 37,750 won ($33.17) per share on the Friday session, down 0.79 percent from the previous session.
The firm's share price crashed at 33,200 won on March 20, a day after the National Tax Service raided the agency's headquarters for tax investigation, but has since displayed signs of recovery.
Likewise, stock prices of SM Entertainment, which hit the bottom at 37,300 won per share on March 15, also closed at 40,500 won on the Friday session. JYP Entertainment, which recorded its low at 28,150 won per share on March 15, also jumped 20 percent in its share price to 34,050 won on the day.
The big three entertainment agencies were named as this year's rising stars by a number of analysts last year, but failed to meet expectations due to the Seungri scandal.
Share prices of YG Entertainment dipped 4.42 percent on Feb. 26, a day after Seungri was questioned by police. When he officially became a suspect last month, the agency's share price nosedived 14.1 percent on March 11. The firm's market value declined nearly 200 billion won on the day.
Share prices of SM also suffered a 10.49 percent decline on the day.
Market analysts say, however, their share prices were a bit too low considering their solid earnings through other artists.
“The nation's digital music market is constantly growing every year while artists are successfully landing in the global market despite the Seungri scandal,” said Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Ji In-hae.
“Even if the issue is stretched further, it is unlikely to negatively influence share prices of the three entertainment firms anymore.”