In a piece titled “A star producer challenges the K-pop patriarchy”released on May 5 (local time), the British news outlet “Financial Times”(hereafter referred to as FT) reported that Korean women view Min Hee-jin’s battle with HYBE as a female taking on traditional male-dominated work environments and conflicts.
According to FT, Min’s criticism of HYBE executives during a recent press conference has received backing from critics amidst the ongoing scrutiny of male leaders in Korea. This is particularly relevant in a country where only 6% of executive roles in the top 100 companies are held by women.
Specifically, Youn Hye-shin, a 31-year-old employee in the education industry in Seoul, disclosed, “What Min is currently experiencing is a common occurrence for many of us in our male-dominated and hierarchical corporate environment.”She went on to say, “Min is vocalizing what we often wish we could express.”
Simultaneously, FT discussed Min’s professional journey, which began as an “entry-level graphic designer”at SM Entertainment in 2002 and culminated in their role as Chief Branding Officer at HYBE in 2019. Critics also noted the success of NewJeans’ second EP “Get Up”, which topped the Billboard 200 chart and sparked a new trend in the K-pop industry known as ‘easy listening’.
One of the topics that FT focused on was the growing conflict between HYBE and Min Hee-jin. This includes Min’s whistleblowing within HYBE and the allegations of plagiarism surrounding NewJeans and ILLIT, HYBE’s newest girl group.
The sources for this information are the FT and Nate.
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