In a new article, the South Korean outlet stated that Min Hee Jin paid for the NewJeans members’ training period. Understand!
Since last Monday, the 22nd, the dispute between HYBE and ADOR has gained new chapters every day. Now, in the early hours of this Wednesday, the 24th, the South Korean portal Dispatch revealed that, initially, the members of NewJeans were trainees at the company Source Music, and were transferred to the recording agency Min Hee Jinwith all training costs paid by the businesswoman.
It is worth remembering that, in K-pop, an artist’s entire training period is paid for by the company, including food, housing, and the classes necessary to become an idol. The value of this “investment” is charged when the person leaves the agency, or after their debut.
This way, all the profit generated by the stars after their debut goes back to the institution, with the aim of paying off the “debt” generated during their trainee days. Thus, idols only start to be properly paid after this amount is paid — something that can take years or months, depending on the success of each group or soloist.
HYBE vs. LOVE
The conflict between HYBE and ADOR became public last Monday, 22nd, after South Korean media reported that the conglomerate initiated an audit against the subsidiary and its CEO, Min Hee Jinafter discovering an alleged attempt by the agency to become independent.
Dispatch, a famous portal in South Korea, stated in an article that the businesswoman has been trying to separate herself from HYBE for some time, in addition to also accusing Hee Jin of taking advantage of an employee of the conglomerate to obtain confidential information from the company, in order to support his plan for ADOR’s independence.
In a press release, Min Hee Jin stated that the conflict between the agencies began after it reported alleged plagiarism committed by ILLIT, a new girl group from BeLift Lab (also a subsidiary of HYBE) which, according to the businesswoman, was copying the NewJeans concept.
“One of HYBE’s labels, BeLift Lab, debuted ILLIT in March 2024, a 5-member girl group. After the ILLIT teaser photos were released, there was an explosive reaction online that people thought ‘it was NewJeans’. ILLIT’s hair, makeup, outfits, choreography, photos, videos, even events, etc., all of their celebrity activities have copied NewJeans,” Hee Jin said in a statement.
In a speech to employees, the CEO of HYBE, Park Ji Won, declared that all of the ADOR CEO’s accusations are false. According to him, “Everything they claim is false and without evidence. Currently, the issues raised are not related to ILLIT’s debut period and we found that they were all pre-planned. We plan to investigate this more carefully during the audit and take appropriate action to address it.”
The case remains ongoing.
Source: Recreio
