Pledis Entertainment

Pledis Entertainment started in 2007 when Han Sung-soo, a former music industry insider, decided to build his own label. He named it after the Pleiades star cluster, hoping his trainees would shine just as brightly. The first artist out the gate was Son Dam-bi, who earned the nickname the female Rain thanks to her powerful stage presence. In early 2009 came After School, a girl group with a rotating lineup concept that kept fans guessing. Their sub-unit Orange Caramel, formed in 2010 with Nana, Lizzy, and Raina, leaned into quirky, retro pop and became a cult favorite. Those early years were lean, the company didn't even have proper offices, just a practice room where everyone squeezed in.

The real turning point arrived with Seventeen, a 13-member boy group that debuted in 2015. They brought a self-producing model to the table, writing and choreographing their own material, which set them apart. By 2023, their mini-album FML had sold over 6.4 million copies, making it the best-selling K-pop album worldwide that year. In May 2025, their studio album Happy Burstday moved 2.3 million units in its first week and hit number one on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart. Seventeen's success has made Pledis a major force, but the label hasn't stopped there, they launched a new boy group, TWS, in 2025, keeping the pipeline fresh.

HYBE Corporation acquired a majority stake in Pledis on May 25, 2020, but the label keeps its own identity. Han Sung-soo still scouts and guides artists, while CEO Kim Yeon-soo handles day-to-day operations. The current roster includes Seventeen, TWS, soloist Bumzu, and Hwang Min-hyun (formerly of NU'EST). Former acts like After School, NU'EST, and fromis_9 have moved on, but their music remains part of the Pledis legacy. The company reported revenue of ₩288.48 billion for 2025, with total assets of ₩282.93 billion. Despite occasional fan frustration over management decisions, Pledis keeps churning out hits and developing new talent from its headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. [edit]