It has been revealed that ADOR paid out a total of 26.1 billion KRW (~19 million USD) to the members of the girl group NewJeans last year.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on April 24, ADOR's sales last year amounted to 110.3 billion KRW (~80.1 million USD). This represents a more than fivefold increase compared to the 19 billion KRW (~13.8 million USD) in sales from the previous year, 2022, making ADOR the third-highest sales figure among HYBE's 11 labels.

Big Hit Music, which houses BTS and TXT, reported the highest sales among HYBE's labels with 552.3 billion KRW (~401.2 million USD). Following closely, Pledis Entertainment, home to artists such as Seventeen and fromis_9, recorded sales of 327.2 billion KRW (~237.7 million USD).

Belift Lab, which houses the girl group ILLIT – which ADOR criticized as being "a NewJeans copy" – reported sales of 27.3 billion KRW (~19.8 million USD). Belift Lab also manages the boy group ENHYPEN.

ADOR's operating profit also saw a significant increase over the year. While the company reported a loss of 4 billion KRW (2.9 million USD) in 2022, it rebounded in 2023 with an operating profit of 33.5 billion KRW (~24.3 million USD).

From this operating profit, after deducting expenses and taxes, the net profit alone amounted to 26.5 billion KRW (~19.25 million USD). HYBE's total net profit for last year was 183.4 billion KRW (~133.2 million USD).

The estimated settlement amount received by the NewJeans members from ADOR is around 26.1 billion KRW (~19 million USD). In the previous year, ADOR spent approximately 29 billion KRW (~21.1 million USD) on comission fees. Of this amount, around 2.9 billion KRW, considered as sales management expenses, was deducted, leaving 26.1 billion KRW as the settlement amount.

With five members in NewJeans, a straightforward calculation suggests that each member received an average settlement of 5.2 billion KRW (~3.8 million USD). Since their debut in 2022, NewJeans has released numerous hit songs, including "Attention", "Hype Boy", "Super Shy", and "Ditto". They have also won several awards at various music ceremonies. Last year, they even claimed the 'Top Global K-Pop Artist' award at the '2023 Billboard Music Awards' just a year and four months after their debut.

Last year, HYBE sold off 20% of their stake in ADOR. Initially, HYBE held 100% of ADOR's shares until 2022. However, as of now, CEO Min Hee Jin owns 18%, and other ADOR executives hold the remaining 2%. This sale is believed to have been made possible due to HYBE acknowledging the success of NewJeans and recognizing CEO Min Hee Jin's contributions.

As of 6 PM on April 23, the deadline set by HYBE for their audit of ADOR, CEO Min Hee Jin has not yet returned the company's assets, including a laptop. Despite the audit response deadline passing on April 24, there has been no response from CEO Min Hee Jin. It was confirmed that the response sent that day included a condition warning that strong legal measures would be taken if the contents were disclosed publicly.

Currently, HYBE's audit team is analyzing the secured computer assets and considering potential legal actions based on the audit results.

Previously, HYBE demanded a shareholders' meeting and sent a letter to ADOR's board of directors requesting CEO Min's resignation. However, CEO Min has resisted, stating, "I was notified of my dismissal after raising issues about ILLIT copying NewJeans." Amidst all the conflict between HYBE and ADOR, NewJeans is gearing up for a comeback in May.

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