NewJeans, the five-member K-pop girl group with the biggest hits like “Attention” and “Super Shy,” is at the center of an ugly legal battle between ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, their label head and Hybe, the parent company behind the popular groups such as BTS, Tomorrow x Together and Seventeen.
The controversial dispute between ADOR and Hybe first erupted in late April when it emerged that Hybe was auditing ADOR over its plans to go independent and acquire NewJeans, which debuted in July 2022 and shot to fame in no time. As the public dispute progressed, accusations of plagiarism, shamanism and insider trading have emerged.
As the battle for control — and the court of public opinion — continues, here’s what you need to know about the ongoing K-pop drama between ADOR CEO Min and Hybe. Her’s all you need to know about Min Hee-jin-Hybe feud.
NewJeans controversy: Who is Min Hee-jin?
Min Hee-jin calls herself the “mother” of NewJeans and is the current CEO of ADOR, which is an independent sub-label under the Hybe banner.
Min, a K-pop industry veteran, has been instrumental in the creative direction of genre-defining acts such as SHINee, EXO and Girls’ Generation. She joined Hybe in 2019. At that time, the company was known as Big Hit Entertainment. She became CEO of the new label ADOR in 2021.
She has an 18% stake in the label, while Hybe owns 80%, and the remaining 2% is controlled by other executives. She formed her first girl group which later became NewJeans.
Why are ADOR and Hybe fighting?
On April 22, the first sign of trouble arrived when Billboard announced that Hybe had initiated an internal review of ADOR after allegations that Min was secretly considering taking control of the label and becoming fully independent. Hybe sent out an official letter, calling for Min to resign as CEO.
ADOR responded and suggested that the infighting started because Min had reason to believe that Hybe was intentionally copying NewJeans’ concept to form ILLIT, a young five-member girl group that made its debut in March under Hybe’s sister label Belift Lab. ADOR also rejected Hybe’s allegations that the CEO was considering various options, including seeking outside investors in an alleged attempt to separate the label from the parent company. Min denied the claims.
On April 25, Hybe issued a press release stating that the audit found “concrete evidence” that Min intended to take administrative control of ADOR, including alleged instructions on how to pressure Hybe to sell its 80% stake in the company. Hybe also said it would file a police complaint for breach of trust against Min and her ADOR executives, prompting the CEO to call an emergency press conference the same day to deny the allegations.
During the emotional two-hour press conference, Min remained loyal to NewJeans, insisting that she had no plans to sever contractual ties with Hybe. She also claimed that she was under a “slave contract” with Hybe (which the company denied), responded to accusations that she sought advice from a shaman, and argued that the beginnings of The Sserafim, a Hybe girl group under the sub-label Source Music, takes priority over NewJeans, among several other claims.
In the weeks that followed, things became increasingly chaotic between Min and Hybe, the company that had recently become South Korea’s leading entertainment conglomerate. Parents of NewJeans members became involved and rumors began to circulate about cults and chart manipulation.
Despite Min and Hybe’s dispute over who controls ADOR (and ultimately NewJeans), both sides in the public smear appear to agree on at least one thing: protecting NewJeans.
NewJeans controversy: What lies ahead?
The ADOR-Hybe fight comes at a bad time for NewJeans. The group, consisting of members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein, is in the midst of a comeback.
“Our company is committed to doing its best to ensure that NewJeans’ comeback activities are not hindered,” Hybe said in an April 25 statement.
Days after the feud was first reported in April, the five released the music video for their latest song “Bubble Gum,” which will be released alongside the upcoming single “How Sweet” on May 24.
They will perform at the K-Wave Concert Inkigayo in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2.
NewJeans will debut in Japan on June 21 with the single “Supernatural.” A second song, “Right Now”, featuring contributions from Pharrell, will also be released on the same day. The group is scheduled to hold a fan meeting titled “Bunnies Camp 2024” on June 26 and 27 in Tokyo.
NewJeans has no more official activities after the Tokyo concerts, so it is still unclear what the future holds for them and what will emerge from the battle between ADOR and Hybe. A month before the controversy, it was announced that NewJeans would potentially release a new album in the second half of the year and were planning a first world tour for 2025.
The narrative changed when new allegations emerged after a parent of one of the members claimed in an interview in May that Hybe planned to put NewJeans on “a long hiatus” after the group’s activities concluded.
ALSO READ: Anna Jobling Kissed by Indonesian actor? What is the truth behind this viral photo?
