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South Korean entertainment giant HYBE, known as the parent company of leading labels such as BIGHIT MUSIC (the home of BTS and TXT), Pledis Entertainment (with SEVENTEEN under its wing) and ADOR (with NewJeans as its flagship), is currently in the spotlight due to internal tensions between HYBE's management and Min Hee-jin, the CEO of ADOR.

HYBE, responsible for the success of world-famous acts such as BTS and LE SSERAFIM, recently caused a stir in the South Korean entertainment industry by announcing an investigation into Min Hee-jin, the CEO of its subsidiary ADOR, which currently exclusively represents the girl group NewJeans. According to HYBE, Min Hee-jin has in recent months made attempts to separate ADOR from HYBE, and suspicions have arisen about her conduct in the matter.

Min Hee-jin

Min Hee-jin began her career with South Korean agency SM Entertainment, where she was involved in the management activities of renowned groups such as Red Velvet, Girls' Generation, SHINee and EXO. In 2019, she made the move to HYBE, one of SM Entertainment's main rivals.

In 2021, ADOR was established as the first independent agency under the wings of HYBE. Under this label, the girl group NewJeans was launched in 2022, which quickly became a remarkable success thanks to its fresh sound and garnered a large number of fans. NewJeans' success is partly attributed to Min Hee-jin's expertise.

Within a span of less than two years, NewJeans has become one of HYBE's main assets and has generated significant revenue not only through music sales, but also through collaborations with brands such as Coca-Cola and Levi's, and by creating the official song for the League of Legends World Championship.

Research

HYBE's recent investigation concerns alleged attempts by Min Hee-jin to increase its stake in ADOR, with 80 percent currently owned by HYBE and 20 percent owned by Min Hee-jin and other ADOR executives. According to South Korean media reports, an audit team from HYBE searched ADOR's offices Monday morning in search of documents that could confirm these suspicions. A HYBE spokesman stated that the company is "investigating ADOR's executives because of suspicions that they tried to take control of the subsidiary."

There are also rumors that Min Hee-jin leaked company information and personal details of HYBE artists in order to put pressure on the label.

Min Hee-jin's response

Min Hee-jin responded to news of the investigation in a statement. She criticized the concept and theme of a new girl group from Belift Lab, another label under HYBE, for being too similar to NewJeans. She accused HYBE of undermining NewJeans' success and claimed that the new group, called ILLIT, would copy elements of NewJeans, from hairstyles and makeup to outfits and choreography.

Min Hee-jin blames Bang Si-hyuk, founder of BigHit Entertainment, from which HYBE emerged, and claims that ADOR filed a formal complaint against HYBE and Belift Lab for the alleged infringement. It denies, however, that it has attempted to take over the company.

These developments cast a shadow over the once successful partnership between HYBE and ADOR, and raise questions about the future direction of the label and its subsidiaries.

© The Content Exchange, source News