Before belonging to ADOR, the members of NewJeans were trainees at Source Music; see how Min Hee Jin became responsible for change!
In 2022, K-pop fans had a pleasant surprise. This is because, on July 22 of that year, NewJeans, a group formed by ADOR, a new sub-brand of HYBE, made their debut with the single “Attention”, presenting a different concept from the fourth generation groups released until then, as they address the 2000s aesthetic in their looks and MVs, in addition to bringing connected narratives between the clips.
The group was an instant success, putting the faces of Minji, Hanni, Hyein, Haerin It is Danielle, the five members of the group, featured in various information vehicles and influential brands today. More than that, the name of Min Hee Jin gained even more strength, as the CEO is the one behind the group’s excellent performance.
But, you know how Min Hee Jin took control of NewJeans? The story came to light this Wednesday, 24th, through an article published by the portal Dispatch, as, in fact, it was revealed that the quintet originally belonged to Source Music, an agency known as the former home of the female group GFriend, but which, in 2019, became part of the HYBE conglomerate.
Selected by the CEO of Source Music, So Sung Jinthe first to join the company was Minji in 2017, followed by Hanni in 2019, Haerin It is Danielle in 2020 and, finally, Hyein, whose entry date as a trainee was not revealed. The girls remained in training with the company until the second half of 2021.
How did Min Hee Jin and ADOR enter the story?
Former creative director and board member of SM Entertainment, Min Hee Jin joined HYBE in 2019 as Branding Director, so her job was to lead the brand of companies affiliated with the conglomerate.
Still, shortly afterwards, the opportunity arose for her to become responsible for a new female group that would debut on Source Music, at the same time that the possibility of her becoming CEO of her own agency gained strength, giving rise to ADOR.
As a result, she took some Source Music trainees to her own agency, including the current members of NewJeans, and to that end, the years of training at the former company were not indebted — Hee Jin covered all expenses before transferring them to ADOR.
Debut NewJeans
Continuing HYBE’s plan, in 2022, Min Hee Jin announced the debut of NewJeans which, with its Y2K aesthetic accompanied by the catchy lyrics produced by 250 (Lee Oh-gong), has already appeared at the top of the music charts, surpassing important milestones with the self-titled album, which with 262,815 copies sold on its first day of sales alone, became the newest sales record holder on the first day of any debut album by a female group in Hanteo’s history.
ADOR
With the success of NewJeans’ debut, Hee Jin was able to become a shareholder of ADOR, purchasing 18% of the company’s shares, while HYBE remained with the remaining percentage – a topic that became relevant from last Monday, 22nd, when HYBE accused Hee Jin of trying to make ADOR an independent company.
According to information released by the Koreaboo portal, the CEO had been trying to free ADOR from HYBE since the beginning of this year and, to this end, she would have created a plan that involves exposing HYBE’s confidential information that would imply that the company was making unfair demands. to ADOR, so that the conglomerate could sell its 80% stake to investors known to ADOR’s management.
As a result, HYBE initiated a lawsuit against ADOR and Hee Jinas well as requested that she resign as CEO, and appointed an additional director to ADOR from HYBE, as both of ADOR’s current directors came from SM Entertainment and would have participated in the alleged plan to Hee Jin to leave the conglomerate.
After confirmation of the audit becomes public, Hee Jin spoke out through a statement released by ADOR, where he justifies the disagreement with HYBE in another way, by stating that the conflict began after alleged plagiarism by ILLIT, claiming that the new girl group from Belift (a company subsidized by HYBE) copied 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.
The declaration of Hee Jin was placed as “false” by the CEO of HYBE, Park Ji Wonin a statement to employees, where he said that the arguments have no proof and the company will investigate this in the audit.
The case remains ongoing.
Source: Recreio
