The K-pop world is always buzzing with fresh controversies — and it’s often the material for a complicated, drama-filled soap opera. Witness the newest feud between the leaders of one label and its subsidiary — HYBE Corporation’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk and ADOR’s former CEO Min Hee Jin. The fallout from it may steer the future of a NewJeans, a well-loved girl group.
On March 25, BELIFT Lab, another subsidiary under HYBE’s direction, debuted a new girl group — ILLIT — which formed through a TV show “R U Next?” The program followed the structure of a survival show, in which hopeful trainees looking to achieve their dreams of debuting perform in front of the camera. The episodes air one by one, and audience members vote for their favorite trainees to form the final group line-up.
ILLIT debuted with the hit song “Magnetic,” and fans noticed eerie similarities with NewJeans’ concept, music and choreography. Following this, ADOR made several claims regarding ILLIT’s plagiarism of NewJeans.
In response, HYBE launched an investigation on April 22 on Jin and ADOR’s vice president with allegations that they were trying to overthrow HYBE and make ADOR independent.
On April 25, HYBE announced it planned to report Jin to the authorities “for a breach of trust and other related allegations.” HYBE shared with the media that Jin was ordering ADOR management to pressure HYBE to sell ADOR’s shares, and therefore trying to seize control of ADOR.
After the audit, HYBE called an ADOR board meeting to discuss the removal of Jin from her position and, on Aug. 27, ADOR released a statement that they had decided to remove Jin from her position and appoint Ju Young Kim as the new CEO. According to ADOR, Jin would no longer serve as CEO but remain at ADOR as an internal director and continue overseeing NewJeans’ future projects.
With Jin removed from her position as CEO, she will lose freedom directing future music projects for NewJeans because her position will no longer give her access to all the resources in her company. NewJeans members were reportedly deeply affected by the controversy with Jin. In a press conference, Jin mentioned that all the members and their parents were on her side, and that the members often called her to express support.
The first news of the audit overlapped with NewJeans’ new comeback with EP “How Sweet” and two Japanese singles. HYBE said in their April 26 statement that they would support NewJeans in the midst of their management company investigations.
However, on July 22, ADOR announced in an Instagram post that New Jeans would take a break from making music.
NewJeans also went live on Sept. 11, using a secondary YouTube account (that has since been deleted) to share stories of their mistreatment from within the company.
In this livestream, NewJeans member Hanni Pham shared that a staff member told a passing HYBE group to ignore her when she greeted them, bringing up issues of workplace harassment. Member Kang Haerin brought up a leaked, pre-debut dance video and medical records from when the members were minors, stating that the media had become invasive toward the group members. She continued to state that the group was unhappy with HYBE’s failure to protect its artists.
Member Kim Minji ended the livestream with a request for Bang Si-hyuk, saying: “We hope Chairman Bang and HYBE make a wise decision to restore ADOR to its original state by [Sept. 25].”
Several fans are sympathetic to the NewJeans members, although they believe them to be manipulated by Jin as a result of their dependency on her. As the members are contractually obligated to stay with the company until 2029, they have nothing to back up their demands — so, by live streaming, the members put their careers on the line for their former CEO.
Jin was reappointed as a creative director of ADOR on Oct. 17. However, Jin and NewJeans members continue to demand her CEO position to be returned.
Tensions between Jin and Bang Si-hyuk, however, weren’t always tense. Following Jin’s leave from her previous company, Bang Si-hyuk offered her a position at HYBE.
Consequently, on July 1, 2019, Jin joined HYBE as the Chief Brand Officer. HYBE confirmed that she would be launching her own label under the company and overseeing the debut of a new girl group — NewJeans.
Jin had been handling NewJeans’ concepts and producing their music under her CEO position to promote under HYBE. NewJeans music videos are posted on HYBE LABELS’ YouTube channel.
On Oct. 14, HYBE released its plan for the fourth quarter of 2024, and there were no NewJeans activities on it. Fans are shocked, as previous hints from both Min Hee Jin and the NewJeans members suggested that the group would be putting out a new album during the fourth quarter of 2024. Many NewJeans supporters accuse HYBE of purposely mishandling the group’s activities in light of the ongoing legal battle with Min Hee Jin.
On Nov. 28, NewJeans members held a press conference to announce their departure from ADOR. BBC reports member Pham accusing the company of “mistreatment” and “manipulation.” However, ADOR claims that their contract is still in place because “a unilateral claim that trust has been broken does not constitute valid grounds for termination of a contract.” The company adds that the termination of the contract was not fully discussed, and they had not been given the time to respond to NewJeans’ demands.
Freshman Kayla Li, a fan of NewJeans since their debut in 2022, is heartbroken about NewJeans’ troubles: “I’m on NewJeans’ side,” she said. “I don’t think it’s the members’ fault, individually, that the drama started. Min Hee Jin isn’t a great person, and the company mishandled the group. I’m just sad because I really liked their music.”
