"It’s clear to anyone that things are proceeding according to the 'industry's usual playbook.'"
This is the general assessment of industry insiders closely observing the ongoing dispute between entertainment agency HYBE and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. With both Min and HYBE having secured one win each and gearing up for the next round, the fact that ADOR's girl group NewJeans has taken center stage in this conflict comes as no surprise.
Analysts predict that if the situation escalates to the next phase—a lawsuit to terminate their exclusive contracts—the advantage may shift to NewJeans. This is because, without restoring the essential 'trust' required in exclusive artist contracts, this battle, now led by NewJeans, is likely to put HYBE at a disadvantage.
On November 13, the NewJeans members Minji (Kim Min Ji, age 20), Hanni (Hanni Pham, age 20), Danielle (Danielle June Marsh, age 19), Haerin (Kang Hae Rin, age 18), and Hyein (Lee Hye In, age 16) sent a notice with demands for corrective action to their agency ADOR. According to Channel A, the notice included the following issues:
- HYBE allegedly decided to "abandon NewJeans and move on to a new plan."
- Neglecting to address the actions of a label manager who referred to Hanni with the dismissive term "ignore her."
- HYBE’s PR director downplaying NewJeans' achievements.
- Unauthorized public release of photos and videos of NewJeans from their trainee days, which still remain online.
- The group’s achievements are being undervalued due to alleged "chart manipulation" (bulk purchasing of albums).
- Unnecessary disputes with Dolphin Kidnappers director Shin Wooseok, which led to the loss of existing works by NewJeans.
The group demanded explanations and immediate resolution for these six issues.
NewJeans referenced Article 15, Clause 1 of their exclusive contract, stating, “NewJeans has already lost significant trust in ADOR. If all violations are not corrected within 14 days of receiving this notice, the broken trust will be beyond repair,” and added, “We will ultimately have no choice but to terminate the exclusive contract.”
The contents of NewJeans' notice closely align with what the members revealed during an "emergency live broadcast" on September 11. At that time, the members claimed that an antagonistic atmosphere toward NewJeans had already formed within HYBE, leaving the group—some of whom are minors—completely unprotected. Furthermore, ADOR’s management had been entirely replaced by individuals aligned with HYBE, extinguishing any hope for active protection or support.
Adding to this “mistreatment of NewJeans” was a new controversy involving HYBE’s “Industry Trend Report," which surfaced during the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee audit on October 24. This report, prepared under the direction of HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk and distributed weekly to label executives, contained blatantly disparaging remarks about artists from competing entertainment companies. The revelations shocked both domestic and international K-pop fandoms.
What garnered particular attention in the report was the content negatively referencing NewJeans, despite the group being under a HYBE label. Former CEO Min Hee Jin, during her tenure at ADOR in early 2023, flagged the unfairness of this document, requesting that "all analysis and commentary on NewJeans be removed" from the report and announcing that ADOR staff would no longer receive it. As a result, ADOR was reportedly excluded from the list of recipients of the report starting from that period.
Among the disclosed excerpts, the phrase that drew the most public scrutiny and was included in NewJeans’ notice of corrective action stated:
“With the advent of the ‘1-million-first-week-sales era’ for girl groups like BLACKPINK, LE SSERAFIM, aespa, and IVE, it seems necessary to categorize these groups differently from the 4th generation framework. The wording ‘New-I-LE (NewJeans, IVE, LE SSERAFIM)’ has been bothering us for days, but abandoning NewJeans and devising a new plan would suffice.”
This statement, suggesting the exclusion of NewJeans from the term grouping top 4th-generation girl groups and implying the creation of a new narrative without them, was criticized for its dismissive tone.
Given the inclusion of the phrase "abandoning one’s own artists," the report appears to have been written sometime between early 2023 (after Min Hee Jin rejected the report) and before April 2024 (when conflicts between HYBE and Min Hee Jin surfaced publicly). The report also mentions promotional strategies for the rookie group ILLIT, under HYBE’s Belift Lab label, suggesting a timeframe after March 25, 2024, when online forums began referencing the term “HYBE’s NewJeans-IVE-LE SSERAFIM” in relation to ILLIT’s debut. This has fueled suspicions that HYBE, during its fallout with Min Hee Jin, sought to replace NewJeans with ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM as part of a strategy to dominate the girl group market anew.
HYBE and ADOR’s subsequent “passive” attitude toward NewJeans has also come under renewed scrutiny. During the period when accusations of professional embezzlement against Min Hee Jin were widely reported, HYBE failed to take action against mockery directed at NewJeans, who had yet to publicly support Min Hee Jin. This included comparisons of NewJeans to the ex-members of FIFTY FIFTY, labeling them “New Fifty,” a derisive nickname. Critics noted HYBE’s lack of defense for the group during these attacks.
In contrast, HYBE requested the press to refrain from using sensitive language during BTS member SUGA's DUI controversy. When allegations of HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk's "LA date" with a female streamer surfaced, the company actively monitored online communities and had related posts removed, citing privacy violations. Furthermore, when the controversial industry report disclosed during the National Assembly audit came to light, HYBE's PR team directly requested journalists to revise their articles, showing a high degree of sensitivity. However, critics argue that such efforts were conspicuously absent when it came to NewJeans, even though the group includes minors and their parents had directly appealed for protection against harm.
Criticism began to emerge that HYBE, rather than Min Hee Jin, was exploiting NewJeans members in the management dispute. For example, in the early stages of the HYBE-Min Hee Jin conflict in April, Min Hee Jin's private KakaoTalk messages were leaked to YouTubers and others. Although the leaked content had little to do with the dispute, some messages, allegedly referencing NewJeans members, became a focus, leading to severe ridicule directed solely at the members. Critics pointed out that HYBE failed to take any appropriate action against this leak.
In entertainment contracts, particularly exclusive agreements between artists and agencies, maintaining a high level of mutual trust is critical. Trust is a fundamental requirement for the validity of such contracts, and if one party significantly undermines that trust and fails to address demands for correction, the relationship can be terminated at any time. In such cases, the focus is not on whether the breach of trust was “substantial” but rather on whether the trust essential for sustaining the contractual relationship can be restored.
Considering the overall situation, it is widely believed that if NewJeans files a lawsuit to terminate their exclusive contract citing a breakdown in trust, HYBE and ADOR will face significant disadvantages. The report's statement suggesting to “abandon New and start anew” is likely to be regarded as a major betrayal of NewJeans members. Under HYBE's multi-label system, the labels are essentially in competition with each other. If it is true that HYBE's report—produced under Bang Si Hyuk’s oversight—delivered negative assessments of NewJeans while excluding ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM, it could suggest that HYBE internally treated NewJeans as a “rival group.”
Industry insiders predict that although NewJeans has set a 14-day deadline, the situation will likely end with the termination of their contract. HYBE and ADOR’s new management rejected the group’s initial correction demands made in September, Min Hee Jin's return as CEO has been thwarted, and suspicions of HYBE’s internal "abandonment of NewJeans" continue to gain traction. As a result, all of NewJeans’ scheduled plans for late this year and early next year have been canceled. Even if Min returns as a producer, the group’s future activities remain uncertain, leading to the conclusion that there is no reason for NewJeans to maintain their contract with HYBE, given the lack of trust.
An anonymous entertainment industry insider commented, “If the matter goes to court, the insufficient protection for minor members will likely be a significant issue. Unlike adult artists, child actors and underage entertainers are often held to stricter standards regarding the responsibilities and obligations of their agencies. HYBE has been repeatedly criticized for failing to take proactive measures or address the mental and emotional harm inflicted on NewJeans members, who were publicly targeted during this controversy.”
The insider added, “Every time an exclusive contract dispute arises, the industry sees the same patterns. Rumors circulate that someone tried to poach the artist, that the artist fell for the offer, and tampering (pre-expiry contact with another agency) caused the problem. This leads to negative images being attached to the artist and everyone associated with them, making it extremely difficult to recover. In NewJeans’ case, even before sending the notice of correction, there were already rumors about which company they contacted or how long they had been preparing for the contract termination. Contract termination lawsuits take a long time to reach a final ruling, and if the artist cannot escape this stigma during that period, their future activities will inevitably suffer. It’s an issue the public needs to follow closely to the end.”
Meanwhile, separate from NewJeans’ actions, it was recently revealed that Min Hee Jin, the former ADOR CEO, notified HYBE earlier this month of her intention to exercise a put option for her shares in ADOR. According to the shareholder agreement between Min and HYBE, if Min exercises her rights, she would receive an amount calculated as 13 times the average operating profit of ADOR over the past two years, multiplied by 75% of her shares in ADOR. As of November 2024, the payout she could receive is estimated at around 26 billion KRW (approximately 19.5 million USD). However, HYBE claims that the shareholder agreement with Min has already been terminated, suggesting this matter will also likely be resolved in court.
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