Weverse Appoints Zooil Yang as President, Signaling New Growth Phase

HYBE’s Weverse appoints Zooil Yang as President as superfan platform enters ‘next phase of growth’

May 27, 2026 By Mandy Dalugdug

Weverse Company , the HYBE -owned company behind global superfan platform Weverse , has appointed Zooil Yang as President.

The appointment, announced on Wednesday (May 27), is effective June 1 .

Yang most recently served as CEO of AXZ , the Kakao -spun-off company that operates South Korea’s Daum portal – one of the country’s oldest and most widely used internet platforms.

Earlier this month, South Korean AI startup Upstage completed its acquisition of AXZ from Kakao in a share-swap deal, after roughly four months of due diligence following a memorandum of understanding signed in January .

The transaction marked the full departure of the Daum portal from its corporate parent – and freed Yang for his new role at Weverse .

Prior to AXZ , Yang held leadership roles at Kakao and Ground X , Kakao ‘s blockchain subsidiary, where he led platform and business initiatives across content and technology services.

Earlier in his career, he held CEO positions at NHN Ticketlink , NHN Bugs – the music streaming service – and NHN Travel Doctor , after beginning his career at NHN .

Weverse Company said the appointment “is part of Weverse’s growth strategy to further enhance its services and strengthen business execution as the company enters its next phase of growth as a leading superfan platform.”

The company added that Yang ‘s “experience across diverse IT sectors is expected to support the company’s continued growth and strengthen its execution capabilities.”

Yang ‘s background – spanning platform operations, content services, digital commerce, and music streaming   – aligns with what Weverse is becoming: a multi-service superfan platform that combines community, streaming, merchandise, and live content under one roof.

Yang succeeds Joon Choi , who told MBW in January 2025 that “the potential for growth in the superfan business is limitless.”

The leadership change comes at a pivotal moment for Weverse – and for the superfan business at large.

The platform turned profitable on an annual basis in 2025 , and hit a record 13.37 million monthly active users in Q1 2026 – up 20% quarter-on-quarter from 11.2 million in Q4 2025 , according to HYBE ‘s most recent earnings filing .

Over the past year, Weverse has expanded on multiple fronts.

In March 2025, the platform launched Listening Party , a Spotify -powered in-app streaming service that allows artists and fans to listen to curated playlists together in real time – with HYBE signaling that Apple Music support would follow.

In November 2025, Weverse made significant inroads into China through partnerships with Tencent Music Entertainment ‘s QQ Music and Alibaba , enabling Chinese fans to access premium services like Weverse DM directly through QQ ‘s platform.

Latin America was Weverse ‘s fastest-growing market in 2025, with a 22% YoY  increase in users and a 715% YoY surge in digital merchandise sales, according to Weverse ‘s 2025 Fandom Trend Report .

Launched in 2019, Weverse now hosts approximately 180 artist communities, has surpassed 155 million cumulative lifetime downloads, and reaches users across 245 countries and regions.

Those communities include HYBE -signed acts such as BTS , SEVENTEEN , TOMORROW X TOGETHER , and LE SSERAFIM , as well as artists from other labels including BLACKPINK , NCT DREAM , and RIIZE – and, increasingly, acts from outside the K-pop ecosystem, including Megan Thee Stallion , Dua Lipa , The Kid LAROI , Conan Gray , and Gracie Abrams .

Universal Music Group invested in Weverse in 2024 as part of an expanded 10-year agreement with HYBE .

Yang inherits a platform that sits at the center of one of the most closely watched commercial opportunities in the music industry.

Goldman Sachs , in its 2025 Music in the Air report, estimated the superfan monetization opportunity at $4.3 billion annually based on 2026 projections.

Weverse is not the only platform chasing that prize.

Spotify is developing a super-premium subscription tier aimed at superfans, while Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl has confirmed that WMG is building its own superfan app.

Kakao Entertainment –a shareholder in HYBE ‘s K-pop rival SM Entertainment – launched a direct competitor to Weverse called Berriz in March 2025.

Earlier this month, HYBE overhauled its corporate identity , signaling a shift toward becoming what it called “an entertainment lifestyle platform company built on both music and technology.”

HYBE posted record Q1 2026 revenue of KRW 698.3 billion (approximately USD $477 million ), up 39.5% YoY , driven by the return of BTS with their fifth studio album ARIRANG . Music Business Worldwide

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_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/hybes-weverse-appoints-zooil-yang-as-president-as-superfan-platform-enters-next-phase-of-growth/)._