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HYBE Corporation launched some of the most popular K-pop groups, such as BTS, TXT, and Seventeen, and has become one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea. It was started by Bang Si-hyuk in 2005 as Big Hit Entertainment. The company is facing a major power struggle with its subsidiary ADOR, which launched the girl K-pop group NewJeans.
On April 22, HYBE and its subsidiary ADOR’s feud came into the limelight. Several reports surfaced in the media revealing that the parent company was soon to audit ADOR over allegations of a hostile takeover by its CEO Min Hee-jin. Here’s how the feud unfolded between HYBE and Min Hee-jin.
Reports claimed Min Hee-jin wanted independent management rights for ADOR
Min Hee-jin, the former SM Entertainment creative director, joined Big Hit Entertainment in July 2019 as Chief Brand Officer and helped it rebrand itself as HYBE. She became the CEO of the All Doors One Room (ADOR) label in 2021, whose 80 percent stake is owned by HYBE. The feud began when several reports stated that Min Hee-jin was planning to get independent management rights for the label and NewJeans. On the same day, ADOR released a statement denying all the allegations.
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Min Hee-jin accused ILLIT of copying her girl group New Jeans’
According to Min Hee-jin’s ADOR, the whole fiasco began when she pointed out that HYBE’s other subsidiary label, Belift Lab’s newly formed five-member girl group ILLIT, had copied NewJeans’ choreography, music videos, and even styling. The label also said it had filed an official internal complaint with HYBE to protect NewJeans’ ‘cultural achievement’. However, the company chose to drive out the CEO of Ador instead of looking into the matter.
HYBE found evidence against Min Hee-jin
During an interview with Billboard on April 23, HYBE confirmed that an investigation had begun against ADOR’s top executives and asked Min Hee-jin to step down from her position. On April 25, HYBE mentioned in a press release that it had found evidence that Min Hee-jin was conspiring to break away from the parent company. It also revealed that they would report ADOR’s CEO to the police for her breach of trust. This led Min Hee-jin to call for a press conference.
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Min Hee-jin explained she just wanted to protect NewJeans
In the two-hour event, which took place on April 25, Min Hee-jin continued to explain that she just wanted to protect NewJeans and was not planning to break away or take the girl group away from the parent company HYBE. She also clarified that her conversations were taken out of context and were presented by HYBE as ‘evidence.’ During the conference, Min mentioned that NewJeans was sidelined to promote the company’s other girl group, Le Sserafim.
Meanwhile, several local South Korean media outlets reported on May 2 that ADOR’s CEO had asked HYBE for the right to terminate the label’s contract with NewJeans without the board’s approval. However, the same day, Min’s lawyers clarified that she had asked to ‘make important decisions’ regarding NewJeans’ contracts to protect the label’s independent management rights. Moreover, there are other back-and-forth allegations regarding stocks, salaries, financial negotiations, and how the audit went down.
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