Since grabbing the world’s “Attention†with their July 2022 debut, NewJeans — the K-pop group made up of members Hanni, Minji, Haerin, Danielle, and Hyein — has topped the Billboard 200, scored collabs with Apple and Coca-Cola, and inspired some truly … unforgettable covers. But in late April, they became wrapped up in something of a family feud: Their parent company, HYBE, was publicly fighting with their label ADOR’s now ex-CEO, Min Hee-jin. On September 11, NewJeans themselves livestreamed an ultimatum for HYBE to reinstate Min as CEO within two weeks. “She is integral to NewJeans’s identity, and we all feel that she is irreplaceable,†Danielle read. But the September 25 deadline came and went, and a court dismissed Min’s injunction to get the job back about a month later. Did that mean the dispute was finally over? Nope, not even close. On November 28, all five members of NewJeans said in an emergency press conference that they’re terminating their contracts with their label. This decision, which ADOR has opposed, comes a week after Min resigned from ADOR and HYBE in a statement where she said she’ll keep the legal battles going — and embark on “a new K-pop journey.â€
Depending on who you ask, this is either the story of an exec who got greedy and girlbossed too close to the sun, or of a brave creative who is being punished by a corporation for trying to protect her artistic vision. One thing’s for sure: K-pop stans are tuned in. Since this battle went public on April 22, ILLIT, BTS, Le Sserafim, and other HYBE groups have been name-dropped left and right. Artists from other companies, like SM Entertainment’s Aespa, were brought up in all this drama-ma-ma-ma. And what’s this about a cult and the alleged reliance on a shaman? Even Jungkook’s dog and V’s texting history became part of the discourse. All of this continued to unfold as HYBE itself landed in hot water, apologizing on October 29 for controversial internal documents mentioning K-pop groups across the industry. Concerns about NewJeans also made it to Korea’s government, with Hanni testifying in front of the National Assembly and a lawmaker later proposing legislation named after her.
In case you haven’t had time to keep up with all the back-and-forth responses and press conferences and reports, here’s how this battle started, what NewJeans has said about their departure and potential penalties, why Min resigned, and how this might affect the group’s future plans.
The Latest
Is NewJeans leaving ADOR?
Depends on who you’re asking. All five members of NewJeans said at a November 28 emergency press conference that they will terminate their contracts with the label at midnight on November 29. “ADOR has neither the ability nor the will to protect NewJeans,†Hanni said, per Korea JoongAng Daily. “Staying at the agency will only prolong our psychological pain and waste our time.†According to the BBC, the group raised concerns about “manipulation,†“deliberate miscommunication,†and “mistreatment, not just towards us but also including our staff.†Ultimately, they argued that ADOR didn’t make an effort to rectify its alleged breaches of contract when asked. But ADOR believes that it never violated the contract in the first place. “The exclusive contracts between ADOR and the NewJeans members remain valid,†the label said after NewJeans’s press conference, in a statement translated by Soompi. “Therefore, we expect them to continue their scheduled activities ahead together with ADOR as they have until now.†The label optimistically noted that it will do its best to “support NewJeans in their activities and help them grow further as global artists.â€
Regardless, NewJeans seems to have already planned a future without ADOR. The group said at their press conference that they will remain active after leaving the label, and intend to fulfill their existing schedules. They also expressed a desire to work with ex-CEO Min Hee-jin again if possible. Danielle went on to acknowledge that the members might not be able to use the name NewJeans in the future, but said they will fight for the right to do so. “Regardless of our name, just remember that NewJeans never dies,†she added, echoing previous remarks from the group’s November 16 acceptance speech at the 2024 Korea Grand Music Awards.
NewJeans and ADOR had a seven-year contract that was set to expire in 2029. Per a Yonhap News report, the group sent a legal notice on November 13 declaring that they would terminate their contracts if the label didn’t rectify alleged breaches of contract within two weeks of receipt. All five members reportedly signed the document, known as a certification of content. (“You might have been surprised by the news, but don’t worry, we’re okay!†Danielle assured fans in a message on the fan app Phoning.) Their specific demands were not initially made public, but NewJeans previously issued a failed two-week ultimatum for Min to be reinstated as CEO in a September livestream. According to Yonhap, their November 13 notice also raised discontent over controversial HYBE internal reports, specifically pointing to a statement that it would be easier to “abandon†NewJeans.
ADOR confirmed that it received the certification of content from NewJeans on the morning of November 14 (which put the deadline at November 28). The label said in a statement that it was “reviewing it to understand the specific requests†and would “do our best to resolve the matter wisely so that we can continue to work with the artists,†according to a Soompi translation. Min announced her resignation from ADOR and HYBE on November 20. After NewJeans declared their departure on November 28, ADOR said in a statement via Soompi, “We regret that a press conference to announce the termination of exclusive contract was planned and conducted even before receiving a response to the certification of contents and without sufficient review.†NewJeans did acknowledge that ADOR sent a response shortly before the press conference, but clearly, the group did not find it satisfactory.
Will NewJeans have to pay penalties for leaving?
They don’t think they need to, but we don’t know for sure what will happen yet. Breaking a K-pop contract before time is up is usually associated with extremely expensive fees (The Korea Times estimated that the five members of NewJeans could collectively owe more than $213 million, while Chosun reported that an associate of Min Hee-jin’s suggested to her over KakaoTalk that the total could be as high as $442 million). Multiple outlets previously speculated that NewJeans might try to file an injunction to get a court to terminate their contracts. But during their press conference, NewJeans said that they terminated their contracts because they held up their end of the agreement, while ADOR and HYBE did not. Haerin suggested that as a result, the responsibility to pay any penalty fees should be on the companies, not the members. We’ll have to wait and see if this argument will end up going to court and playing out between lawyers.
So NewJeans is on Min Hee-jin’s side?
They’re definitely Team Min, yes. In a September 11 livestream on a since-deleted YouTube channel, all five members of NewJeans called for Min Hee-jin to be reinstated as CEO by September 25. “CEO Min Hee-jin is not only the person that produces our music, but someone who makes NewJeans who we are,†Danielle said. “She discusses even the smallest details with us and explains them in ways that we can understand clearly. NewJeans has a distinct color and tone, and this was created with CEO Min Hee-jin.â€
During the half-hour broadcast, which has since been re-uploaded by fans,
the girls questioned how they can continue to work if Min is not running both the production and management sides at ADOR. They also suggested that while Min fought to protect them from alleged mistreatment at HYBE, the label’s current management isn’t bringing the same energy. For example, Hanni said she and another group recently greeted each other in the HYBE building, only for their manager to later instruct the idols — while in front of Hanni — to “ignore her.†She claimed that ADOR’s new CEO made her feel like a liar when she recounted what happened. The members additionally pointed to a recent dispute over NewJeans content and the reveal of their trainee videos as reasons to wonder who really has their best interests at heart. They further hinted that they have experienced other uncomfortable incidents that they can’t discuss owing to their contract. It’s not clear where the September 25 deadline came from or what action the members planned to take after the date passed, but Hanni said the members of NewJeans “are not going to follow HYBE’s every orders blindly.†She added, “We are more than well aware that this is getting in the way of our work and that we should be treated much, much better than how we are right now.â€
While the livestream was NewJeans’s first official statement on the internal company battle, the group has expressed love and gratitude to Min in acceptance speeches at music shows and awards ceremonies. Per The Korea Times, all members of NewJeans submitted court petitions in May siding with Min’s injunction, meaning they didn’t want her to leave. (That month, screenshots circulated that allegedly showed Min making disparaging comments about NewJeans’s work ethic and a member’s weight. In a May 19 statement, Min said the messages were edited and taken out of context, adding that the NewJeans members themselves sent her comforting texts right after the screenshots began circulating.) According to Min, the girls have been deeply affected by unfolding events. During her first press conference back in April, Min said NewJeans’s youngest member, Hyein, cried for 20 minutes about wanting to speak out on the group’s fan app, Phoning, and that other members called or asked to visit.
Meanwhile, even the girls’ families have gotten involved. Parents of NewJeans members publicly sided with Min in a Sports World interview in July, and Ilgan Sports also obtained a copy of a letter reportedly sent by the parents to Min in April that alleged that HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk had ignored their daughters in the company building multiple times, among other concerns. (HYBE denied the claims in a press release.)
What did Hanni say at the National Assembly?
On October 15, Hanni testified about workplace bullying in front of lawmakers as part of the Environment and Labor Committee’s examination into working conditions in the entertainment industry. The 20-year-old spoke at length about a manager allegedly telling another HYBE artist to ignore her, an incident she first brought up on the surprise NewJeans livestream. She said she wanted to prevent similar things from happening to other idols and trainees. According to the BBC, Hanni noted that this wasn’t the only reason she was “honestly convinced that the company hated us.†She also alleged that higher-ups at HYBE hadn’t returned her greetings, HYBE employees had spoken negatively about NewJeans on Blind, and HYBE’s PR team had tried to get a journalist to downplay her group’s achievements. (HYBE denied the latter claim, arguing that it was trying to correct a factual error.)
ADOR CEO Kim Ju-young, who represented HYBE at the hour-long hearing, said she’d been given different accounts of the alleged ignoring incident. She also claimed that CCTV footage expired before she could request it. Kim said hearing how Hanni felt made her wonder if she could have done more, and affirmed that she would cooperate with an investigation into the incident. Hanni didn’t look convinced that Kim wanted to help, and at one point, said as much directly to the exec. Near the end of the hearing, Hanni brushed away tears and acknowledged that people have been worried about NewJeans. “Some fans apologized for making us go through this, but I’m grateful to Korea for allowing me to do what I love,†the Vietnamese-Australian singer said. “The ones who should be apologizing are avoiding responsibility, and that frustrates me.â€
After NewJeans’s livestream during which Hanni first spoke about the alleged ignoring incident, some fans were so concerned that they filed a workplace-harassment complaint over it with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The government agency ultimately closed the case on November 20, citing multiple factors to conclude that the K-pop idol doesn’t count as an employee under the country’s labor laws. Hanni herself previously touched on the distinction in her October testimony. “I understand that the contracts for artists and trainees may be different [from that of regular workers],†she said, per Korea JoongAng Daily, “but we are all human.â€
On November 26, multiple Korean outlets reported that a lawmaker from the Progressive Party proposed the so-called NewJeans Hanni Act, which would be a partial amendment to the existing Labor Standards Act. This legislation would allow protections against workplace bullying to apply to people in special employment relationships, from K-pop idols to apartment security guards and delivery workers. If enacted, it would also establish penalties for perpetrators and employers who don’t take appropriate action in cases of workplace bullying.
Background
Who is Min Hee-jin, and why is she fighting HYBE?
Before she was nicknamed the “mother†of NewJeans, Min Hee-jin was a creative director at SM, where she worked on visuals for groups including Girls’ Generation, EXO, f(x), and SHINee. Over the course of her career, some of her concepts have been criticized as age-inappropriate. In 2022, she denied allegations that her past Instagram posts had glamorized pedophilia.
In 2019, Min joined Big Hit Entertainment, BTS’s agency, as chief brand officer. She helped it reintroduce itself as today’s HYBE Corporation, which operates a multi-label system where HYBE artists work with different subsidiary labels. (The Big Hit label, for example, is home to BTS and TXT, while Le Sserafim is under Source Music.) In 2021, HYBE announced that Min was becoming the CEO of NewJeans’s eventual label, ADOR, short for All Doors One Room. HYBE owns an 80 percent stake in it.
This conflict first went public on April 22, when news broke that HYBE had begun an audit of ADOR over allegations that Min was planning a hostile takeover for independent management rights of the label (and thus NewJeans). ADOR released a statement on the same day, denying that it was trying to seize control. From the label’s point of view, this mess actually started because Min had brought up concerns that ILLIT, a five-member girl group under fellow HYBE label Belift Lab, had copied NewJeans in styling, choreography, music videos, and more. ILLIT debuted in March with an EP that was produced by HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk and sold 500,000 units in the first four weeks. They took home 12 music-show wins for lead single “Magnetic.â€
ADOR said it made an official internal complaint to HYBE to protect the “cultural achievements†of NewJeans, but alleged that the company chose to try to drive Min out instead of giving a solid response. (HYBE later denied this in a statement, claiming that it actually sent her a six-page answer.)
The next day, HYBE confirmed to Billboard that it was investigating top execs at ADOR and had sent an “official letter†asking Min to step down. Per multiple local reports, HYBE’s audit involved questionnaires and requests for assets such as company files and laptops. The company said in an April 25 press release that the investigation found evidence that Min was conspiring about how to break away from HYBE and getting staff involved According to HYBE, there were plans to pressure HYBE to sell its shares of ADOR, with one auditee allegedly admitting to creating documents to attack HYBE. The audit reportedly also revealed that Min had given instructions to prepare for a war of public opinion starting in May. HYBE declared in its press release that it was going to report Min to the police for breach of trust, which prompted her to call a press conference to personally deny wrongdoing.
What did Min Hee-jin say during that press conference?
During the emotional two-hour event on April 25, Min Hee-jin cried, cursed, suggested that people in her life have worried that she would try to kill herself because of this situation, and made a weird comment about NewJeans’s Minji being way prettier when she was younger. If you want a play-by-play, Korea JoongAng Daily has a lengthy summary, but Min’s main message was that she cares about protecting NewJeans and is not planning to take them away or break her contract with HYBE. Regarding HYBE’s alleged evidence, she argued that private conversations are being presented out of context. For example, HYBE claimed Min had considered involving foreign investors to facilitate a takeover plan. “We were just messing about when we mentioned the Saudi Arabia fund,†Min said, per Korea JoongAng Daily’s translation. “Would that even be possible?†In another case, she said she asked a venture-capitalist friend about contract terms, which HYBE portrayed as her reaching out to an external consultant. Basically, she argued that no plans were ever put into action and that certain scenarios just reflect the way an employee complains about their job and boss.
Min name-dropped several other K-pop groups in her claims that HYBE also slighted NewJeans and ADOR prior to ILLIT’s debut. Notably, she feels NewJeans was initially shunted aside to promote Le Sserafim (which Source Music has denied). At one point, Min pulled up screenshots of texts allegedly showing Bang Si-hyuk responding sarcastically to NewJeans’s global success. She also implied that she is under an unfair contract (which HYBE has, of course, denied). Her attorney, Timothy SK Lee, stepped in to note that the terms of Min’s contract were being renegotiated before this situation unfolded. “We asked [Min] not to make the internal report because it would worsen their relationships,†he said. “She went forward because she said that she wanted to make things right.â€
In the wake of the press conference, articles and press releases were pumped out on a daily basis. On May 2, several outlets reported that, per an industry source, Min had previously asked HYBE for the right to terminate ADOR’s contract with NewJeans without board approval. (HYBE reportedly suspected this was a shady step to ultimately make ADOR an “empty shell†that she could buy back later when its value dropped.) According to a same-day statement from Min’s lawyer, Min asked in a January 25 meeting for the right to “make important decisions†regarding contracts with NewJeans as a way to protect the label’s independent management rights and “resolve the unfair interference†from HYBE during the group’s debut process. Since then, there’s been plenty of other back-and-forth allegations about salaries, stocks, shamanism, financial negotiations, and the way the audit went down, but the gist is all the same: HYBE claims it has proof Min engaged in illegal or unsavory business behavior in a way that can’t be written off as a joke or casual conversation, while she alleges that the company is lying, taking things out of context, and coercing staff to try to dig up dirt. In August, Min’s attorneys also denied a former employee’s allegations that Min had berated her for filing a sexual-harassment complaint at the company and tried to cover up the case.
So how did Min Hee-jin lose her CEO status?
It definitely didn’t happen A-S-A-P, baby. After initiating the April 22 audit, HYBE asked ADOR to convene its board of directors, who have the power to call a shareholders’ meeting that could approve Min Hee-jin’s dismissal. But guess who was still on the board? Per the Chosun Ilbo, Min sent HYBE an email on April 29 refusing to call a board meeting, arguing in part that the request was outside the authority of an audit. Naturally, HYBE disagreed — but it also had a backup plan. The company had already filed an April 25 court request for permission to call an emergency shareholders’ meeting to replace board members and get Min removed that way.
Ultimately, ADOR’s board met on May 10 and agreed to convene a shareholders’ meeting on May 31. Since HYBE owns 80% of ADOR, Min’s prospects of staying suddenly seemed slim. But according to The Korea Herald, Min then filed an injunction with the Seoul Central District Court in hopes of nullifying HYBE’s ability to vote in the meeting before it happened. Before the first hearing on May 17, The Korea Times reported that all five members of NewJeans submitted court petitions siding with Min. According to News 1, BTS producer Pdogg, Pledis CEO Han Sung-soo, Source Music CEO So Sung-jin, HYBE executive creator Son Sung-deuk, BTS and Le Sserafim creative director Kim Sung-hyun (a.k.a. Nu Kim), and TXT producer Slow Rabbit submitted petitions in support of HYBE.
On May 30, local outlets reported that Min had won the injunction, with the court ruling that it did not have enough evidence to justify her dismissal. The court concluded that Min was finding ways to lessen HYBE’s control over ADOR, but that it’s difficult to say she followed through on any plans and actually committed a breach of trust. This meant that HYBE couldn’t kick her out at the May 31 meeting (or at least not without the court ordering it to pay $14.5 million). HYBE said it would comply with the ruling, but would take follow-up legal action. Still, the company reportedly did use the shareholder meeting to remove some of Min’s allies. According to The Korea Herald, HYBE voted to dismiss two ADOR board members who were close with Min and appointed three HYBE execs.
It looks like those new members may have helped finally sway the balance against Min. After months of efforts, she was replaced as CEO in an August 27 board meeting. ADOR confirmed the news to Vulture in a statement that named Kim Ju-young, HYBE’s chief HR officer and an existing member of the label’s board of directors, as the new CEO. “With these personnel and organizational changes, we aim to provide strong support for the continued growth and success of NewJeans,†ADOR said at the time. The label also told Korea JoongAng Daily that Min virtually took part in what it described as a lawful meeting where the board “made the optimal decision for the future of ADOR and NewJeans.†While initial reports suggested that she had stepped down, Min said she was dismissed from the position against her wishes, which she denounced to JoongAng Daily as a “grave violation†of a shareholder contract.
Even after Min Hee-jin was replaced as the label head, she was still an employee at ADOR. Min’s legal team previously said in a September 13 statement that she planned to first be reappointed as internal director — her term was due to expire on November 2 — and then take steps to re-secure the CEO position. The first part of this plan worked: ADOR did convene an October 17 shareholder meeting where Min’s contract as internal director was reupped for three years through 2027.
She filed another injunction to get the label’s board to reinstate her as CEO, but on October 29, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the request. “We acknowledge and appreciate the court’s wise ruling,†HYBE said in a statement to Vulture. “In light of this decision, HYBE is dedicated to normalizing ADOR’s operations, improving our multi-label capabilities, and supporting the activities of our artists.†Per The Korea Herald, after the October 29 court dismissal, Min affirmed in a same-day interview that she still planned to become CEO again and is “committed to taking this as far as it can go.†ADOR’s five-member board (three of whom are HYBE execs) made its stance clear the next day by voting against Min’s return as CEO.
Wasn’t Min Hee-jin going to stay on as a producer?
When news of Min’s departure as CEO first broke, ADOR did say that Min would still serve as NewJeans’s producer. But around two hours after initial reports circulated, Min claimed in an August 27 statement to Korea JoongAng Daily that ADOR had decided that without discussing it with her. Her legal team then said on August 30 that she would not agree to a proposed two-month contract to stay on as the group’s producer, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. She claimed that the contract contained “toxic clauses,†which the label denied. ADOR later said it had also offered her a five-year contract to produce for NewJeans on September 11, with discussions about specific terms to take place in the future. Representatives for Min responded by again alleging that the proposed agreement had “numerous toxic provisions,†per a Soompi translation of a September 25 statement. Her November 20 resignation statement similarly expressed outrage that the company offered her a producing contract “full of toxic clauses as if they were doing me a huge favor.â€
Why did Min Hee-jin resign?
HYBE’s commitment to battling this out in the court of law (and the court of public opinion) apparently took a toll on ADOR’s former CEO. In a lengthy November 20 statement to Forbes, Min Hee-jin announced that she was resigning as an internal director at the ADOR label — and terminating a contentious shareholder agreement to leave parent company HYBE altogether. “Even in the midst of the hellish dispute with HYBE that has lasted for over seven months, starting with HYBE’s illegal audit in April, I have done my utmost to adhere to the shareholders’ agreement and to restore ADOR to its pre-April state,†Min said. “However, as HYBE still refuses to acknowledge their wrongdoings and shows no signs of change, I have decided that further efforts would be a waste of time.†Later in her statement, she put it even more bluntly: “I didn’t want to conform to and settle in this twisted organization out of attachment to money.†She accused HYBE of using its subsidiary labels to file unreasonable lawsuits against her and “engage in unfair media play,†among other allegations.
Still, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of her. Min noted that she still plans to “hold HYBE legally accountable†for allegedly violating her shareholder agreement, among other “illegal activities.†(She has already followed through; per Yonhap News, she filed a new criminal complaint against two PR execs at the company within a week.) Min’s statement also thanked NewJeans fans for their support, and suggested that she’s not done with the music industry just yet. “I hope you will show great interest in the new K-pop journey I will embark on in the future,†she said.
ADOR confirmed Min’s exit in a brief statement to Forbes on November 20. “It is regrettable that Min unilaterally notified us of her resignation,†the statement said. “ADOR will continue to provide our fullest support to NewJeans to help them grow and thrive even further.â€
Why is the shareholder agreement important?
Min Hee-jin has argued that the terms of her shareholder agreement with HYBE guaranteed that she would be ADOR’s CEO until November 2026. She’s claimed that HYBE violated the still-valid agreement; HYBE’s claimed that it had already been terminated. SPOTV News previously reported that HYBE nixed the contract at some point in July, which was a contentious month in this feud (Min underwent eight hours of police questioning on July 9 tied to a breach-of-trust complaint filed by HYBE; Yonhap News reported on July 24 that she had filed her own complaint with the police against five HYBE execs). Min ultimately said she was terminating the shareholder agreement in her resignation announcement, but affirmed that she still plans take legal action over HYBE’s alleged breach of this contract.
The agreement reportedly gave Min the power to ask HYBE to purchase 75 percent of her ADOR stocks. SPOTV estimated that these put-option rights were worth around $75 million.
Everything Else
Have plans for a NewJeans album, tour, or anything else been affected?
Min Hee-jin previously confirmed in a May 31 press conference that NewJeans had been preparing to go on a 2025 world tour, which she said would require the group to release a new album by the end of this year. When NewJeans announced on November 28 that they were leaving ADOR, Danielle said the group wants to drop new music “next year, as soon as possible, whenever.†But aside from an instrumental demo that Min Hee-jin shared in September, we still haven’t gotten any substantial updates on their first album. Both Min and HYBE acknowledged in September that album production for the group was on hold. Naturally, they blamed each other: Min suggested in a September 25 JoongAng Ilbo interview that this was part of HYBE’s “obstruction†of business against NewJeans, while a September 26 statement from HYBE to ChosunBiz pointed to Min’s alleged negligence and delayed decision-making.
When ADOR confirmed to Vulture on August 27 that Min had been replaced as CEO, the label noted that it aims “to provide strong support for the continued growth and success of NewJeans.†The girls didn’t seem too sure about that, though. “It was our dream to perform the music we wanted to make together with Min Hee-jin, and we were working hard for that dream,†Danielle said in NewJeans’s September 11 livestream in support of Min, per a Soompi translation. “But now we can no longer achieve those dreams, and we may not even get to carry out all the plans we’ve made.â€
Min previously suggested in her May 31 press conference that it’s been difficult to focus on her plans for NewJeans amid her dispute with HYBE. During the livestream, NewJeans empathized with that sentiment. “Despite her being in the midst of all this current legal conflict, she’s expected to plan and creatively produce our future endeavors in just only two months, which I personally think makes no sense at all,†Hanni said in English, in apparent reference to reports that ADOR had asked Min to sign a two-month contract to continue producing for the group after her removal as CEO.
Music-video director Shin Woo-seok alleged in early September that ADOR’s new management had told him to remove already released NewJeans footage and not upload planned content. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, ADOR claimed that it only asked him to take down one video for copyright reasons. Shin later restored affected content and announced plans to take legal action against the label. “What scares us the most is that it’s not just our future that’s being threatened, but also the work that we’ve made so far,†Minji said in the NewJeans livestream, per a JoongAng Daily translation.
What’s happened to ILLIT?
Min Hee-jin has made it clear that her beef is with the adults at HYBE and Belift, not the 16- to 20-year-old members of ILLIT who were selected to debut after competing on the survival show R U Next?. But it seemed inevitable that the quintet would face scrutiny over how the choreography, visuals, and sound compare to NewJeans when they returned on October 21 with their second mini-album, I’ll Like You. “Rather than dwelling on the controversy, we concentrated on showing our true colors and improving ourselves for those who believe in us,†Yunah said at a media showcase for the comeback, per The Korea Times. Fellow member Wonhee added that Bang Si-hyuk had personally offered advice and input for this comeback.
ILLIT previously wrapped their music-show stage promotions for “Magnetic†and “Lucky Girl Syndrome†in late April, meaning they were due for a break shortly after the drama began. Still, fans remained worried about the emotional toll of this situation, especially after a member appeared to be reading and deleting negative comments during a livestream.
On May 22, Belift announced that it had filed a criminal complaint over the plagiarism allegations, accusing Min of interference with business and defamation. According to a Soompi translation, Belift later said in a June 10 statement that it was also filing a civil lawsuit to hold Min “accountable†for damages to Belift artists and members, “as well as participating creators who have been burdened and silenced by the stigma of plagiarism.†That same day, Belift released a 27-minute YouTube video denying the plagiarism allegations. Yonhap News reported on November 22 that Min plans to sue Belift right back, with her lawyer stating that she will pursue both a civil and criminal case. This news came a day after ILLIT won Best New Female Artist at the 2024 MAMA Awards in Los Angeles on November 21.
Okay, now how did BTS get involved?
Military service couldn’t keep this conflict from reaching the group. Min Hee-jin claimed in an October 29 interview that V — whom she collaborated with on his debut solo album, Layover — sometimes called her from the military to check if she was doing okay amid ongoing events. She specifically claimed that he sent her a birthday message at dawn. But phone use is limited to specific times in the military, so some people questioned whether rules were bent for V because he’s famous. On November 21, the BTS member’s unit denied giving him any special treatment, noting that he only used his device during allowed afternoon periods.
Even a pet has gotten in it. An Instagram account for Jungkook’s dog, Jeon Bam, used colors associated with each of the NewJeans members in a September 13 post captioned, “💙🩷💛💚💜💪🻠Artists are not guilty.†A follow-up post the next day added, “Don’t use them.†Big Hit Music said in a statement that it checked with the BTS member and confirmed he made the posts because he believed “under no circumstances should a young artist be dragged into a dispute and used as a shield.â€
Previously, Yonhap News reported that HYBE’s April audit found that Min privately told other people Bang Si-hyuk had copied her to make BTS. Naturally, this vague allegation did not sit well with the BTS Army. In her press conference, Min denied ever saying this. Minutes before the conference, HYBE also claimed it had obtained transcripts of Min consulting a shaman she believed was possessed by her dead sister about company business decisions, including who to hire and which trainees to accept. But the part that went viral was a conversation allegedly about BTS’s military service. “I think it would be better for me if BTS went, what do you think?†Min said, per a Korea JoongAng Daily translation, to which the shaman responded, “I’m trying to send them.†Min claimed that the shaman is simply a friend of hers. Regarding the chat about BTS, she said she was curious about how to plan if the company’s “ace team†would be gone.
And what’s all this about a cult?
In late April, a conspiracy theory began circulating online that Min Hee-jin wanted to leave HYBE because it has ties to Dahn World, which has also been associated with the names Brain & Body, Dahn Hak, and Dahn Yoga. Reports from Rolling Stone and Forbes include allegations that the group is a pseudo-religious cult. Much of the speculation about HYBE’s ties is based on “clues†perceived to be planted in song lyrics and music videos. Special attention has been paid to NewJeans’s “OMG†video, because Min showed a screenshot during her press conference claiming that she was threatened by HYBE execs over it. Multiple viral posts pointed out that six of the seven BTS members graduated from Global Cyber University, which was established by Dahn World founder Ilchi Lee (real name Lee Seung-heon). But it’s worth noting that many K-pop idols, including those who aren’t under HYBE, have degrees from that same school. Perhaps a virtual education simply offers a more flexible schedule?
On May 2, Dahn World issued a statement denying that it is a cult or has ties to BTS and HYBE. That same day, HYBE’s Big Hit label announced that it has taken legal action over posts spreading the “completely false†allegation that BTS is affiliated with Dahn World “or any religious cults.†The company said it had filed a criminal complaint over the cult claims, as well as resurfaced allegations of chart manipulation (which Big Hit also denied).
What’s up with Source Music and that Dispatch exposé?
Source Music has consistently denied Min Hee-jin’s claim that NewJeans was pushed aside to let Le Sserafim be HYBE’s first girl group. On July 15, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that Source Music had recently sued Min for defamation and disruption of business over alleged damages to Le Sserafim. Per Soompi, ADOR responded by not only denying that Min had stolen the NewJeans members, but also further accusing Source Music of copying a launch strategy Min had presented to HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk. Source Music firmly denied this and said it would pursue further legal action against Min on top of its existing lawsuit. Parents of NewJeans members then responded via a Sports World interview in which they maintained their loyalty to Min and ADOR, while also leveling allegations of mistreatment and misinformation against Source Music and HYBE.
On July 23, Dispatch published a lengthy report alleging that Min Hee-jin had consulted with a shaman and decided to delay NewJeans’s debut at Source Music so that she could take the trainees to her own label. Alleged screenshots of Min’s texts appear to show her deciding to eliminate trainees from the lineup based on the shaman’s advice, with one girl seemingly removed because the shaman thought she looked possessed by a ghost. The report includes a video of a seven-person “Attention†dance practice with two faces blurred out. In NewJeans’s September 11 livestream, Haerin expressed discomfort with the release of predebut content and HYBE’s inaction.
What other K-pop groups have been mentioned?
At this point, the better question might be what groups haven’t been. During a National Assembly audit on October 24, a lawmaker shared a HYBE document titled “Weekly Music Industry Report†that criticized many different K-pop groups across the industry and contained disparaging remarks about physical appearance, including that of minor members. When questioned, Belift CEO and HYBE COO Kim Tae-ho claimed that this was a collection of external opinions. But in an October 29 statement on HYBE’s website, HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang took a more apologetic stance about the “highly inappropriate†internal document. “On behalf of the company, we acknowledge and take full responsibility for the inflammatory and inflammatory language directed at K-pop artists, the addition of the author’s personal views and evaluations, and the fact that the content was left as a document,†Lee wrote, per a fan translation. “In particular, we are deeply sorry and deeply distressed that innocent artists and members of the company have been misunderstood and harmed by the reverse viral allegations, which are completely untrue.†Sports Seoul previously reported that Min Hee-jin had taken issue with these weekly reports several times, emailing a complaint to HYBE management in April. In an October 29 interview, Min confirmed that she had sent a critique calling for objective evaluations with facts and numbers.
Yonhap News previously reported that HYBE’s audit allegedly found that Min had also accused boy groups TWS and RIIZE of copying NewJeans. Min denied this in her April press conference and went on to name-drop a lot of other groups while explaining the ways she felt ADOR and NewJeans have been wronged. She denied speculation that she had to do with the disbandment of Lil Uzi Vert’s ult K-pop group, GFRIEND, which was under the HYBE-acquired Source Music. She claimed that HYBE promised that the members of NewJeans would be HYBE’s first girl group, but that Source Music debuted Le Sserafim first in May 2022 instead. Min and HYBE have offered very different explanations for this decision. She has alleged that HYBE wanted to confuse the public into believing that Le Sserafim was her group, while HYBE has attributed the delay to corporate restructuring needed to fulfill her request to create the ADOR label.
Min suggested that Bang Si-hyuk was insecure about Le Sserafim’s competitive prospects, given the success of IVE (which, like Le Sserafim, includes two former IZ*ONE members). She also shared screenshots that allegedly show him asking if she thought she could “crush†the SM girl group Aespa. Finally, she distanced herself from comparisons to another messy industry situation: “I saw what happened to Fifty Fifty, I’m not dumb.â€
For its part, HYBE brought up a few groups while hitting back against claims that it did not promote NewJeans enough. According to HYBE, its comms team distributed 273 press releases for NewJeans last year. In comparison, 365 were released for Pledis, which has four teams including boy band Seventeen. While fromis_9 stans might not agree, HYBE maintained that it does its best to promote all of its artists.