What we know so far about the HYBE drama

The internal dispute at K-pop giant HYBE, home to some of the biggest K-pop groups, has sparked a probe of South Korean lawmakers into the controversies and allegations plaguing the company and also reignited debates on the welfare of K-pop artists. The series of controversies have also put the future of popular K-pop girl group NewJeans at risk. Here’s what you should know about the struggles in HYBE and what lies ahead for the future of the company.

What is HYBE? HYBE did not become a big name in the music industry overnight. It started as BigHit Entertainment, founded by producer Bang Si-hyuk in February 2005. The agency first found initial success with ballad acts such as K.



Will and 8eight. BigHit became a juggernaut in the K-pop industry due to the global success of its boy group BTS, the first South Korean act to top the Billboard Hot 100. BigHit would solidify its position in the K-pop industry by acquiring Source Music in 2019 and PLEDIS Entertainment in 2020.

At the time, Source Music and PLEDIS were known for groups GFriend and SEVENTEEN, respectively. This marked the beginning of HYBE’s multi-label system, currently consisting of six labels. BigHit would rebrand as HYBE in March 2021.

HYBE was envisioned to become the “world’s best music-based entertainment lifestyle platform company,” believing in the power of music to make a positive impact. ADOR and Min Hee-jin On April 22, 2024, HYBE announced that it initiated an audit on the management of sub-label ADOR after it detected attempts by the agency to become independent. ADOR is the agency of NewJeans, which was initially headed by CEO Min Hee-jin.

Min, a former creative director at SM Entertainment, joined BigHIt Entertainment in 2019 as its chief brand officer . Among her tasks was to lead the debut of a new girl group, which would later become NewJeans, debuting in 2022 with the songs “Attention” and “Hype Boy” which instantly topped charts worldwide. In April, the company confirmed to Billboard that it called for a shareholder meeting and asked Min to step down as ADOR CEO.

HYBE has an 80% stake in ADOR, while Min and other executives hold 20%. ADOR responded to HYBE’s audit by alleging that HYBE copied NewJeans through its subsidiary label BELIFT LAB and its girl group ILLIT with its debut EP Super Real Me and the song “Magnetic.” “ADOR has never allowed or given consent to anyone, including HYBE and BELIFT LAB, to copy NewJeans’ achievements.

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We have no intention of tolerating promotions such as groups being sibling groups just because they debuted under HYBE labels,” the agency said in a statement translated by Soompi on April 22. On April 25, HYBE announced that it would file a complaint against Min and other ADOR executives for alleged breach of trust due to digital evidence that suggested that “the CEO of ADOR instructed the management team to devise ways to pressure HYBE to sell the ADOR shares it holds.” The company attached a KakaoTalk screenshot which supposedly shows Min and an ADOR executive listing down methods to get complete control of ADOR.

In a press conference held on the same day, Min denied allegations that she attempted to make ADOR independent. “It’s not me that turned my back on HYBE, it’s HYBE that betrayed me. It used me to the fullest and now wants to take me down because I don’t listen to them,” she said, as quoted by Korea JoongAng Daily .

She also reiterated her allegations that ILLIT copied NewJeans, saying that the two groups had similar posters, pictorials, and plans for pre-debut endorsement deals. On May 22, BELIFT LAB filed a criminal complaint against Min for alleged interference with business and defamation. “Although this issue is unrelated to ILLIT, the members of ILLIT are suffering from severe malicious comments, ridicule, and personal attacks,” BELIFT LAB said.

It filed additional complaints on June 10, seeking to hold Min “accountable for the damages suffered by the artists and members of BELIFT LAB as well as participating creators who have been burdened and silenced by the stigma of plagiarism.” On July 15, Source Music sued Min for ₩500 million (P21.05 million) for alleged defamation and disruption of business over her comments on girl group LE SSERAFIM.

“They didn’t let me promote NewJeans as the first girl group from Min Hee-jin because they intentionally wanted to confuse people. NewJeans was the one that should have debuted first, but they broke their promise and debuted LE SSERAFIM instead,” Min had claimed. Source Music, in response, said: “The members of NewJeans have been trained under Source Music.

And it was Source Music, not Min as an individual, who chose them as trainees.” Both cases have yet to be resolved as of writing. NewJeans speaks up On May 7, Min asked the Seoul Central District Court for an injunction to prohibit HYBE from exercising voting rights to remove her from ADOR in a scheduled meeting on May 31.

The court granted her request . However, Min was replaced more than a month later by HR expert Kim Joo-young as ADOR CEO. According to the agency, Kim has “experience in various industries and will be responsible for stabilizing and reorganizing ADOR’s internal structure.

” ADOR added that Min would continue to serve as the company’s internal director and oversee the production of NewJeans. However, a representative for the former ADOR CEO said the decision was “made unilaterally without her consent.” “The company announced that CEO Min Hee-jin would continue producing for NewJeans, but this was not discussed with her and is a unilateral notification from the company,” the representative said.

The new CEO would not be able to quell the instability at ADOR as NewJeans held a surprise livestream on September 11 to speak up on the dispute after the members felt their feelings and thoughts were not properly communicated with the agency and its management. The members demanded that HYBE reinstate Min as CEO by September 25, saying it was the only “way we can get along with HYBE, without fighting with the company.” ADOR management rejected NewJeans’ request, saying that its board had “proposed to Min Hee-jin to take charge of production for NewJeans for the next five years.

” In the now-deleted livestream, Vietnamese-Australian member Hanni also shared an alleged incident where a manager for another HYBE group told its members to ignore her after they greeted each other. Must Read NewJeans urges HYBE to reinstate Min Hee-jin as ADOR CEO in now-deleted livestream Hanni reported the alleged incident to Kim but reportedly told her she was too late in reporting the incident as there was no proof, adding the incident made her feel that the new CEO was not worried about the group. Workplace bullying probe Hanni’s story would become the center of a probe by the South Korean government on workplace bullying as she was requested by the National Assembly’s environment and labor committee to testify in a hearing.

On October 15, Hanni testified on how Kim and HYBE management dealt with her incident and its CCTV footage. Must Read K-pop star calls for better treatment of artists at parliamentary hearing “I checked the footage and it only included an eight-second clip. The rest, about 50 minutes, was missing.

When I asked why, her explanations kept changing throughout the meeting. At one point, she even said the video had been deleted,” she said, as quoted by The Korea Times . The NewJeans member added that she recorded the meeting to “avoid missing importance details” as she does not fully understand Korean as a foreigner.

She claimed she “has proof” that Kim and HYBE “lied.” Hanni also cited incidents where HYBE supposedly criticized NewJeans members in internal chats and how a member of the company’s PR team allegedly downplayed the group’s Japan debut. She said she “realized the negative atmosphere [in HYBE] wasn’t just a feeling — it was real.

” “I know that if I don’t speak up, the issue will quietly fade away. I came forward because I don’t want anyone else in the industry, whether they are seniors, juniors, peers, or trainees. to go through the same thing,” she added.

At the same hearing, Kim said she “believes Hanni’s claims” and was supposedly trying to verify them. “Hearing Hanni’s concerns, I wonder if I could have done more,” she said. The new ADOR CEO also pledged that the company would “listen to the artist’s voice and strengthen communication” following the incident and the subsequent probe.

South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor is also conducting an investigation into workplace bullying allegations at HYBE following complaints filed by NewJeans’ fans . Controversial HYBE internal report In the latest twist of the probe into HYBE’s practices, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Min Hyung-bae questioned HYBE’s chief operating officer and BELIFT LAB CEO Kim Tae-ho in a separate audit on October 24, about HYBE’s internal document called the ​​”Weekly Music Industry Report ” on industry trends. The report contained negative comments directed at idols and groups from different agencies, including criticism of the idols’ physical appearance.

“These evaluations and derogatory expressions are directed at minors, showcasing an inhumane perspective on idols,” Min said. Kim responded that HYBE monitors public opinion on K-pop artists by compiling online opinion on the latest trends and issues in the industry, adding that the report is “not the company’s official stance.” Days later, on October 29, HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang apologized for the document in a statement on the company’s website , saying he is “particularly sorry and distressed about the unfounded suspicions of reverse viral marketing that are not true at all, causing misunderstandings and harm to innocent artists and individuals.

” “I formally and respectfully apologize to the external artists mentioned in the document who have suffered damage and distress. We are also reaching out to each agency individually to offer our apologies directly. Additionally, I am also sincerely extending an official apology to all the artists of HYBE.

..who have been subjected to criticism due to the company,” Lee added.

The HYBE CEO said that he halted the creation of documents such as the “Weekly Music Industry Report” and promised to “establish guidelines and strengthen internal controls to prevent such issues from occurring again.” Following the controversy, SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan took to Instagram and spoke up about working as a K-pop artist and its challenges, saying that he hopes “people don’t take idols lightly.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by 승관 SEUNGKWAN (@pledis_boos) “You don’t have the right to easily intrude on our narrative.

Not just us, but other artists as well, we are not your items. I hope you don’t think you can use and enjoy us as you please,” he said, as translated by Soompi . “I sincerely hope we stop giving wounds we can’t take responsibility for.

I don’t want to see my members, all my colleagues who are working hard right now, the staff who have sincerely worked for us, and our fans getting hurt anymore,” Seungkwan added. – Rappler.com ₩1 = P0.

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