K-Pop Groups THE BOYZ, VICTON, Apink, & Weeekly Now Under IST Entertainment!
On the 17th of September, Weekly and Apink's agency Play M Entertainment and THE BOYZ's agency Cre.Ker Entertainment announced that they will be having a merger, combining into one label.
Notably, both Play M Entertainment and Cre.Ker Entertainment are subsidiaries of Kakao Entertainment. The decision was made after directors from both Cre.Ker Entertainment and Play M Entertainment agreed on the merger, making the procedure seamless and direct.
The merger was scheduled to occur at the end of 2021. Jang Hyun Jin, Play M Entertainment's CEO, and Yoon Young Ro, Cre.Ker Entertainment's CEO, will be leading the newly merged company together and just recently, a new company name was formed for the merger.
Today, Play M Entertainment and Cre.Ker Entertainment have officially announced their company's new name following their merger!
Prior to their merger, Play M's pantheon of artists included Apink, VICTON, Weeekly, and Huh Gak, while Cre.Ker Entertainment had THE BOYZ.
As of writing this article, today on the 12th of November, it was announced that the name of the merged agency is going to be IST Entertainment.
Read IST Entertainment's full statement below:
"Hello.
On November 1, 2021, Play M Entertainment and Cre.Ker Entertainment merged and established a new agency, IST Entertainment Corp.
We, IST Entertainment, will help our artists stand at the forefront of K-pop by creating synergy between the two companies and maintaining an interconnected system, and we will strengthen the competitiveness of our planning, production, and management as we strive toward the global stage.
Additionally, we promise to create even more creative and meaningful content in the future, so that you-the fans-can communicate with our artists in interesting and enjoyable ways.
Standing before you under our new name IST Entertainment, we ask for your warm welcome and support.
Thank you."
Stay tuned for more news and updates regarding IST Entertainment and its artists!