It’s safe to say that there’s been a lot going on in the K-pop industry. If you’re a fan of the girl group NewJeans, the newest girl group ILLIT, or both, you may be reeling from the news that’s going around and probably wondering what’s in store for the group’s future following all of this drama.
To bring you up to speed, HYBE labels, the recording company behind some of the biggest names in K-pop such as BTS and ENHYPEN, sent shockwaves through the K-pop community when it was reported on April 22 that it had launched an internal investigation into one of their subsidiaries, ADOR. This included asking ADOR’s founder, Min Hee-jin, to step down following an audit against her, the label, and its executives.
ADOR is the company that produces New Jeans, and Min Hee-jin oversees the group’s creative direction. According to Billboard, the company had “invoked the right to audit CEO Min Hee-jin and top executives of its subsidiary label, ADOR.” The outlet reports that HYBE, “called them to summon a shareholder meeting and sent an official letter to ask CEO Min to step down.”
It’s also stated that the corporation did not wish to speak further on the reason behind their decision or why they asked Min Hee-Jin to step down.
Min Hee-jin is hardly a new name in the K-pop industry. She formerly worked with another prominent Korean entertainment agency, SM Entertainment, and helped produce some of the company’s biggest names, including Girls’ Generation, SHINee, Red Velvet, and f(x), and more. In 2019, she began working for HYBE labels and gradually started the process of establishing her own company with ADOR.
On April 25, the drama escalated even further when Min Hee-jin held an emergency press conference with her attorneys to give her side of the story.
So, how did it all start? While it’s unclear what triggered this controversy, it all came to light when Min Hee-jin accused HYBE labels of replicating New Jeans’ creative direction for their latest girl group, ILLIT, which debuted under another HYBE subsidiary, Belift Lab. The group’s debut single, “Magnetic,” has received domestic and worldwide recognition, with over 100 million Spotify streams and a spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 only a month after its release.
In a statement, Min Hee-jin shared that ADOR filed an official complaint against HYBE. Min Hee-jin also brought up the copycat allegations, saying, “ILLIT has been copying NewJeans in all areas of activities including hair, makeup, costumes, choreography, photos, videos and event appearances.” She added, “ILLIT is being evaluated as a derivative of NewJeans, with terms like ‘Min Hee-jin style,’ ‘Min Hee-jin type’ and ‘NewJeans counterpart.”
Even HYBE labels since responded to the press release with a statement. “Today, there were so many untrue claims made by CEO Min Hee-jin during the press conference that it’s difficult to list them all one by one,” the statement read. “CEO Min misrepresented the issues by mixing up perspectives and presented distorted facts with her characteristic skewed interpretation. We have decided not to address each claim individually as we have deemed them not worth responding to, although we could refute them with evidence.”
But the drama didn’t end there.
The friction between HYBE labels, NewJeans, and Min Hee-jin erupted on Aug. 27, when ADOR issued a statement announcing Min Hee-jin’s resignation as CEO of the entertainment agency. ADOR then hired a new CEO, Kim Ju-young, who previously served as HYBE’s chief human resources officer. Min Hee-jin believed she was driven out of her position and released a statement to the Korea JoongAng Daily on the same day the decision was made. “The board made the decision regardless of the CEO’s wishes…This is a grave violation of the shareholders’ contract.”
After this, there was relatively no new information surrounding the situation. That is until Sept. 11 when NewJeans spoke out for the first time, emphasizing their support for Min Hee-jin. As the girl pointed out in the now-deleted video, the live titled “What NewJeans Wanted To Say” was posted without the knowledge or the involvement of any staff members. The NewJeans members went on to express their dissatisfaction with HYBE’s choice and accuse the company of mishandling the group.
loona fiftyfifty and now newjeans once again speaking up about mistreatment how there’s no one protecting them and somehow there are still losers are once again turning it into a brainwashing and fanwar thing as if the girls aren’t crying for help. the cycle is repeating itself https://t.co/BARwOOq9U7
— aeri ✰ (@catnipzbangs) September 11, 2024
Member Danielle stated that Min Hee-jin was a transparent voice for the group and understood its sound, style, and overall vision. She stated in the live, “CEO Min Hee-jin is not only the person that produces our music but someone who makes NewJeans who we are. She discusses even the smallest details with us and explains them in ways that we can understand clearly. NewJeans has a distinct color and tone, and this was created with CEO Min Hee-jin. She is integral to NewJeans’ identity, and we all feel that she is irreplaceable.”
NewJeans concluded the live with a direct request to HYBE labels to reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO of ADOR by September 25.
HYBE brands’ recently hired CEO, Jason Jaesang Lee, reacted to the news following a shareholders meeting, saying that it will take time to respond to the New Jeans ultimatum video, but he added, “HYBE is a company which follows the rules and pursues precision management. Looking back, those who follow the rules always end up as the winners.”
The future course of NewJeans is unknown, but we’ll be sure to updated you on all of this!