Background and career
Yang Hyun-suk (Korean: 양현석; born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, singer, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the executive producer and chairman of YG Entertainment, the fourth-largest record company in South Korea.
Seo Taiji & Boys was formed in 1991 with Seo Taiji, Lee Juno and Yang Hyun-seok. Yang said he first met Seo when the musician came to him to learn how to dance when Yang was a dancer (Yang danced in the Korean dance crew "Spark"(which is considered the first Korean breaking dance group) and in the dancing group "Park Nam Jung and friends(박남정과 친구들)"). "Blown away" by his music, Yang offered to join the group and they later recruited Lee who was one of the top dancers in Korea. The group was influential on the Korean music scene, famous for their single, "Nan Arayo" (Korean: "난 알아요", "I Know"). The group received criticism for some of their albums, most notably for the song, "Shidaeyugam" (Korean: 시대유감, "Regret of the Times"), to which fan backlash led to the abolition of the Pre-censorship law in 1996. The group disbanded in 1996 and each member went on to pursue solo careers.
In 1996, he established YG Entertainment and released his first solo album which featured a song composed by Seo Taiji. This was their first collaboration since the breakup. Yang Hyun-Suk has produced successful artists through his company, most notably Jinusean, 1TYM, Wheesung, Gummy, Seven, Big Bang, 2NE1, Winner, iKon, Tablo, Epik High, Lee Hi, Blackpink, Treasure, BabyMonster, and Psy. Due to recent controversies involving the Burning Sun scandal and other allegations, Yang Hyun-suk announced his plans to step down from all of his positions at YG Entertainment, and his brother Yang Min-suk announced his decision to resign as CEO of YG Entertainment on June 14, 2019.
On December 22, 2022, Yang was acquitted of a charge of threatening an informant. On November 8, 2023, his acquittal for threatening the informant was overturned by the Seoul High Court, finding that he had abused his status at the company to coerce trainees into reversing police testimonies. He was sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for 1 year. A previous acquittal for blackmail was upheld. In December 2023, Yang discussed his "deep involvement in every aspect of BabyMonster's production", and how the youth of the members resonated with him because he had a similarly aged daughter. In May 2024, YG Entertainment released a video featuring Yang announcing upcoming plans for BabyMonster and Treasure.
Yang began dating former Swi.T and Moogadang member Lee Eun-ju in 2001, and they married in 2010. They have two children together, born in 2010 and 2012.
