Um, Is NewJeans Okay?

NewJeans. Photo: Korea Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Since grabbing the world’s “Attention” with their July 2022 debut, NewJeans — the K-pop radical made up of members Hanni, Minji, Haerin, Danielle, and Hyein — has topped the Billboard 200, scored collabs with Apple and Coca-Cola, and inspired immoderate genuinely … unforgettable covers. But since precocious April, they’ve been wrapped up successful thing of a household feud: Their genitor company, HYBE, is warring to get escaped of their label’s CEO, Min Hee-jin. Depending connected who you ask, this is either the communicative of an exec who got greedy and girlbossed excessively adjacent to the prima … oregon of a brave originative who is being punished by a corp for trying to support her creator vision. One thing’s for sure: K-pop stans are tuned in. Since this conflict went nationalist connected April 22, ILLIT, BTS, and different HYBE groups person been name-dropped left and right. Even artists from different companies, similar SM Entertainment’s Aespa, were brought up successful each this drama-ma-ma-ma. Below, successful lawsuit you haven’t had clip to ticker a two-hour property conference oregon support up with each the back-and-forth responses, a speedy primer of what to know, including whether NewJeans volition beryllium affected, if Min Hee-jin has been kicked out, and what’s up with each those cult rumors.

Before she was nicknamed the “mother” of NewJeans, she was a originative manager astatine SM, wherever she worked connected visuals for groups including Girls’ Generation, EXO, f(x), and SHINee. Over the people of her career, immoderate of her concepts person been criticized arsenic age-inappropriate, and successful 2022 she denied allegations that she had glamorized pedophilia connected her Instagram.

In 2019, Min joined Big Hit Entertainment, BTS’s agency, arsenic main marque officer. She helped it reintroduce itself arsenic today’s HYBE Corporation, which operates a multi-label strategy wherever HYBE artists enactment with antithetic subsidiary labels. (The Big Hit label, for example, is location to BTS and TXT, portion Le Sserafim is nether Source Music.) In 2021, HYBE announced that Min was becoming the CEO of NewJeans’ eventual label, ADOR, abbreviated for All Doors One Room. HYBE owns an 80 percent involvement successful it.

This struggle archetypal went nationalist connected April 22, erstwhile news broke that HYBE had begun an audit of ADOR implicit allegations that CEO Min Hee-jin was readying a hostile takeover for autarkic absorption rights of the statement (and frankincense NewJeans). ADOR released a statement connected the aforesaid day, denying that it was trying to prehend control. From the label’s constituent of view, this messiness really started due to the fact that Min had brought up concerns that ILLIT, a five-member miss radical nether chap HYBE statement Belift Lab, had copied NewJeans successful styling, choreography, euphony videos, and more. ILLIT debuted successful March with an EP produced by Bang Si-hyuk, which sold 500,000 units successful the archetypal 4 weeks. So far, they’ve taken location 11 music-show wins for pb azygous “Magnetic.”

ADOR said it had made an authoritative interior ailment to HYBE to support the “cultural achievements” of NewJeans, but alleged that the institution chose to effort to thrust Min retired alternatively of giving a coagulated response. (HYBE aboriginal denied this successful a statement, claiming that it really sent her a six-page answer.)

The adjacent day, HYBE confirmed to Billboard that it was investigating apical execs astatine ADOR and had sent an “official letter” asking Min to measurement down. Per aggregate local reports, HYBE’s audit progressive questionnaires and requests for assets specified arsenic institution files and laptops. The institution said successful an April 25 press release that its probe had recovered grounds that Min was conspiring astir however to interruption distant from HYBE and involving her staff. According to HYBE, determination were plans to unit HYBE to merchantability its shares of ADOR, with 1 auditee allegedly admitting to creating documents to onslaught HYBE. The audit reportedly besides revealed that Min had fixed instructions to hole for a warfare of nationalist sentiment starting successful May. HYBE declared successful its property merchandise that it was going to study Min to the constabulary for breach of trust, which prompted her to telephone a property league to personally contradict wrongdoing.

During the affectional two-hour lawsuit connected April 25, Min Hee-jin cried, cursed, suggested that radical successful her beingness person disquieted that she would effort to termination herself due to the fact that of this situation, and made a weird remark astir NewJeans’ Minji being mode prettier erstwhile she was younger. If you privation a play-by-play, Korea JoongAng Daily has a lengthy summary, but Min’s main connection was that she cares astir protecting NewJeans and is not readying to instrumentality them distant oregon interruption her declaration with HYBE. Regarding HYBE’s alleged evidence, she argued that backstage conversations are being presented retired of context. For example, HYBE claimed Min had considered involving overseas investors to facilitate a takeover plan. “We were conscionable messing astir erstwhile we mentioned the Saudi Arabia fund,” Min said, per Korea JoongAng Daily’s translation. “Would that adjacent beryllium possible?” In different case, she said she asked a venture-capitalist person astir declaration terms, which HYBE portrayed arsenic her reaching retired to an outer consultant. Basically, she’s arguing that nary plans were ever enactment into enactment and that definite scenarios conscionable bespeak the mode an worker complains astir their occupation and boss.

Min name-dropped respective other K-pop groups successful her claims that HYBE besides slighted NewJeans and ADOR anterior to ILLIT’s debut. Notably, she feels NewJeans was initially shunted speech to beforehand Le Sserafim. At 1 point, Min pulled up screenshots of texts allegedly showing Bang Si-hyuk responding sarcastically to NewJeans’ planetary success. She besides implied that she is nether an unfair declaration (which HYBE has, of course, denied). Her attorney, Timothy SK Lee, stepped successful to enactment that the presumption of Min’s declaration were being renegotiated earlier this concern unfolded. “We asked [Min] not to marque the interior study due to the fact that it would worsen their relationships,” helium said. “She went guardant due to the fact that she said that she wanted to marque things right.”

Since the property conference, articles and property releases person continued to beryllium pumped retired connected a regular basis. On May 2, several outlets reported that, per an manufacture source, Min had antecedently asked HYBE for the close to terminate ADOR’s declaration with NewJeans without committee approval. (HYBE reportedly suspects this was a shady measurement to yet marque ADOR an “empty shell” that she could bargain backmost aboriginal erstwhile it was worthy less.) However, according to a same-day connection from Min’s lawyer, she asked successful a January 25 gathering for the close to “make important decisions” regarding contracts with NewJeans arsenic a mode to support the label’s autarkic absorption rights and “resolve the unfair interference” from HYBE during the group’s debut process. There’s been plentifulness of different back-and-forth allegations astir salaries, stocks, fiscal negotiations, and the mode the audit went down, but the gist is the same: HYBE claims it has impervious Min engaged successful amerciable oregon unsavory concern behaviour successful a mode that can’t beryllium written disconnected arsenic a gag oregon casual conversation, portion she alleges that the institution is lying oregon taking things retired of context.

Seriously, wherefore did this person to hap during a NewJeans comeback season? Less than a week aft quality of the audit broke, NewJeans dropped a euphony video for “Bubble Gum,” owed to deed streaming services alongside “How Sweet” connected May 24. (HYBE announced connected April 26 that RM of BTS would merchandise his 2nd solo medium connected the aforesaid date. In effect to online speculation that this was a retaliatory determination to artifact NewJeans from apical illustration positions, HYBE said successful an April 28 statement that Min Hee-jin knew of the coinciding merchandise and was good with it.) The radical is scheduled to travel their May comeback with their archetypal 2 Japanese singles successful June, positive a instrumentality gathering astatine the Tokyo Dome. Previous reports hinted that the radical was readying to merchandise a caller medium successful the 2nd fractional of 2024 and spell connected a satellite circuit successful 2025.

According to HYBE, NewJeans’ comeback volition proceed arsenic planned. Per Deadline, the institution said successful an April 25 statement that it would proceed to supply intelligence and affectional attraction to NewJeans and enactment their upcoming comeback, adding that the institution volition conscionable with the members’ ineligible representatives to sermon a program to “protect” the group. It seems that HYBE inactive sees a aboriginal for them. But fixed Min’s level of involvement, immoderate fans are disquieted that a NewJeans without her conscionable wouldn’t deed the same.

Meanwhile, Min has suggested that down the scenes, the girls person been profoundly affected by unfolding events. During her property conference, she said the group’s youngest member, Hyein, cried for 20 minutes and wanted to talk retired astir the concern connected the group’s instrumentality app, Phoning. According to Min, different members expressed enactment by calling oregon asking to sojourn her.

Min Hee-jin has made it wide that her beef is with the adults astatine HYBE and Belift, not the 16- to 20-year-old members of ILLIT who were selected to debut aft competing connected the endurance amusement R U Next?. If and erstwhile the quintet returns with caller music, it seems inevitable that they volition look further scrutiny implicit however the choreography, visuals, and dependable comparison to NewJeans. But they’re presently owed for a break, fixed that they precocious wrapped their music-show signifier promotions for “Magnetic” and “Lucky Girl Syndrome.”

Yonhap News reported that HYBE’s audit had recovered that Min Hee-jin privately told different radical that Bang Si-hyuk had copied her to marque BTS. Naturally, this vague allegation did not beryllium good with the BTS Army. In her property conference, Min denied ever saying this. Minutes earlier the conference, HYBE besides claimed it had obtained transcripts of Min consulting a shaman astir institution concern decisions, including who to hire. But the portion that went viral was a speech allegedly astir BTS’s subject service. “I deliberation it would beryllium amended for maine if BTS went, what bash you think?” Min said, per a Korea JoongAng Daily translation, to which the shaman responded, “I’m trying to nonstop them.” Min claimed that the shaman is simply a person of hers. Regarding the chat astir BTS, she said she was funny astir however to program if the company’s “ace team” would beryllium gone.

A conspiracy mentation has been circulating online that Min Hee-jin wanted to permission HYBE due to the fact that it has ties to Dahn World, which has besides been associated with the names Brain & Body, Dahn Hak, and Dahn Yoga. Reports from Rolling Stone and Forbes see allegations that the radical is simply a pseudo-religious cult. Much of the speculation is based connected “clues” perceived to beryllium planted successful opus lyrics and euphony videos. Special attraction has been paid to NewJeans’ “OMG” video, due to the fact that Min showed a screenshot during her property league claiming that she was threatened by HYBE execs implicit it. Multiple viral posts pointed retired that six of the 7 BTS members graduated from Global Cyber University, which was established by Dahn World laminitis Ilchi Lee (real sanction Lee Seung-heon). But it’s worthy noting that galore K-pop idols, including those who aren’t nether HYBE, person degrees from that aforesaid school. Perhaps a virtual acquisition simply offers a much flexible schedule?

On May 2, Dahn World issued a connection denying that it is simply a cult oregon has ties to BTS and HYBE. That aforesaid day, HYBE’s Big Hit statement announced that it has taken ineligible enactment implicit posts spreading the “completely false” allegation that BTS is affiliated with Dahn World “or immoderate spiritual cults.” The institution said it has filed a transgression ailment implicit the cult claims, arsenic good arsenic precocious resurfaced allegations of illustration manipulation (which Big Hit has besides denied).

In summation to the claims astir BTS, Yonhap News reported that HYBE’s audit allegedly recovered Min besides accused boy groups TWS and RIIZE of copying NewJeans. Min denied this successful her property league and went connected to name-drop a batch of different groups portion explaining the ways she felt ADOR and NewJeans person been wronged. She denied speculation that she had to bash with the disbandment of Lil Uzi Vert’s ult K-pop group, GFRIEND, which was nether the HYBE-acquired Source Music. She claims that HYBE promised that the members of NewJeans would beryllium HYBE’s archetypal miss group, but instead, successful May 2022, Source Music debuted Le Sserafim first. Min and HYBE person offered precise different explanations for this decision. Min alleged that HYBE wanted to confuse the nationalist into believing that Le Sserafim was her group, portion HYBE has attributed the hold to firm restructuring needed to fulfill her petition to make the ADOR label.

Min suggested that Bang Si-hyuk was insecure astir Le Sserafim’s competitory prospects, fixed the occurrence of IVE (which, similar Le Sserafim, includes 2 erstwhile IZ*ONE members). She besides shared screenshots that allegedly amusement Bang asking if she thought she could “crush” the SM miss radical Aespa. Finally, she distanced herself from comparisons to different messy manufacture situation: “I saw what happened to Fifty Fifty, I’m not dumb.”

For its part, HYBE brought up a fewer groups portion hitting backmost against claims that it did not beforehand NewJeans enough. According to HYBE, its comms squad distributed 273 property releases for NewJeans past year. In comparison, 365 were released for Pledis, which has 4 teams including lad set Seventeen. While fromis_9 stans might not agree, HYBE is maintaining that it does its champion to beforehand each of its artists.

As of work time, no. But it seems similar HYBE is trying to marque it hap A-S-A-P, baby. The institution antecedently asked ADOR to convene a committee of directors meeting, since they person the powerfulness to telephone a shareholders’ gathering that could o.k. Min’s dismissal. But conjecture who’s connected the board? Per the Chosun Ilbo, Min Hee-jin sent HYBE an email connected April 29 refusing to telephone a committee meeting, arguing successful portion that the petition is extracurricular the authorization of an audit.

Naturally, HYBE disagreed — but it besides had a backup plan. The institution had already filed a tribunal petition connected April 25 asking for support to telephone an exigency shareholders’ gathering to regenerate the committee members and get Min removed that way. An initial, closed-to-the-public proceeding was held connected April 30, reportedly wrapping up successful conscionable 30 minutes. An ADOR lawyer told journalists extracurricular the courtroom afterward that the statement plans to clasp a committee gathering by May 10 and a wide shareholders’ gathering astatine the extremity of May. Stay tuned?