FNC Entertainment Is Looking to Become a Public Company

Is a change in South Korea’s so-called music industry “Big Three” imminent?

According to this report, FNC Entertainment, the management agency behind the K-Pop acts FTISLAND, CNBLUE, Juniel, AOA, and actors Lee Dong Gun and Lee Da Hae, is looking towards becoming a publicly listed company within the year. FNC Entertainment is the first entertainment company to be listed in the Korean stock exchange in three years, since YG Entertainment entered in 2011.

It is reported that there is  a high interest in the entertainment company as it is a fast-moving mover and shaker in the industry. There are observations that FNC Entertainment might potentially rearrange the “big three,” referring to YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment, by breaking through. The report said FNC posted a 29 billion won (around 28.3 million USD)  profit in the first half of 2014, following the half-year performances of SM and YG.

FNC is also expected to expand more aggressively in the foreign market, particularly taking advantage of the strong Chinese market for K-Pop. One such move is the establishment of its Global Centers, to train overseas talent for entertainment careers. The largest global education center is currently in Samsung-dong, Seoul, but such centers are expected to open in Shanghai and Guangzhou in China within the year.

Though it began as primarily a music company, FNC Entertainment has grown to manage both music artists and actors. Even so, many of their music talents have active acting careers, as well.