By Choi Kyong-ae
Shares in JYP Entertainment are continuing to suffer a prolonged impact after a member of one of its girl groups waved the Taiwanese national flag on an online show in November, sparking anger among Chinese viewers, analysts said Sunday.
JYP, one of Korea's three biggest management companies along with SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment, has shed nearly 10 percent of its market capitalization through Friday this year, dropping to 4,140 won through the impact of the incident.
"Though this won't last beyond the first quarter, JYP Entertainment stocks may fall below 4,000 won if Chinese social network services users who believe there is only one China increasingly take issue with the incident," Lee Nam-joon, an analyst at KTB Investment & Securities, said.
Given SM and YG are aggressively making inroads into China, respectively, with plans to establish SM China this year and to expand into the local paid music streaming-download service market there, JYP needs to end the flag issue as quickly as possible to catch up with its two bigger rivals in the world's most populous country, he said.
In November, Chou Tzuyu, a Taiwanese member of K-Pop girl group Twice which is managed by JYP, held the Taiwanese flag during the My Little Television program.
In the past two months, anger among Chinese SNS users about the flag waving forced JYP chief Park Jin-young to offer an apology to Chinese fans and Tzuyu to stop all of her current activities in China.
"Through this incident, I have once again deeply experienced that, to partner up with a nation, there is a need to respect that nation's sovereignty, culture, history, and the people's emotions. In the future, we will firmly put an end to having this kind of an incident occurring," Park said in an recent apology that appeared on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter.
Tzuyu, 16, also made an apology Friday, saying she felt proud to be Chinese and that there is only one China. This time, the public apologies from Park and Tzuyu have sparked anger among Taiwanese people who resent China's claims on their island and want to be called Taiwanese rather than Chinese.
On the streets of Taipei, suspicions circulated that JYP forced Tzuyu to make the apology to resume the activities of Twice in China, according to media reports.
Taiwan's President elect Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party, said, "We should make it clear to the international community that holding a Taiwanese flag is a legitimate expression of national identity."
Tsai became the first woman to win the presidential election in Taiwan, Saturday.
Shares in JYP Entertainment are continuing to suffer a prolonged impact after a member of one of its girl groups waved the Taiwanese national flag on an online show in November, sparking anger among Chinese viewers, analysts said Sunday.
JYP, one of Korea's three biggest management companies along with SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment, has shed nearly 10 percent of its market capitalization through Friday this year, dropping to 4,140 won through the impact of the incident.
"Though this won't last beyond the first quarter, JYP Entertainment stocks may fall below 4,000 won if Chinese social network services users who believe there is only one China increasingly take issue with the incident," Lee Nam-joon, an analyst at KTB Investment & Securities, said.
Given SM and YG are aggressively making inroads into China, respectively, with plans to establish SM China this year and to expand into the local paid music streaming-download service market there, JYP needs to end the flag issue as quickly as possible to catch up with its two bigger rivals in the world's most populous country, he said.
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In November, Chou Tzuyu, a Taiwanese member of K-Pop girl group Twice which is managed by JYP, held the Taiwanese flag during the My Little Television program.
In the past two months, anger among Chinese SNS users about the flag waving forced JYP chief Park Jin-young to offer an apology to Chinese fans and Tzuyu to stop all of her current activities in China.
"Through this incident, I have once again deeply experienced that, to partner up with a nation, there is a need to respect that nation's sovereignty, culture, history, and the people's emotions. In the future, we will firmly put an end to having this kind of an incident occurring," Park said in an recent apology that appeared on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter.
Tzuyu, 16, also made an apology Friday, saying she felt proud to be Chinese and that there is only one China. This time, the public apologies from Park and Tzuyu have sparked anger among Taiwanese people who resent China's claims on their island and want to be called Taiwanese rather than Chinese.
On the streets of Taipei, suspicions circulated that JYP forced Tzuyu to make the apology to resume the activities of Twice in China, according to media reports.
Taiwan's President elect Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party, said, "We should make it clear to the international community that holding a Taiwanese flag is a legitimate expression of national identity."
Tsai became the first woman to win the presidential election in Taiwan, Saturday.
