Hanni, a member of NewJeans, surprised fans during a live YouTube broadcast on November 11th by revealing that a HYBE manager instructed the group’s members to ignore her. The concern over alleged bullying within the company prompted NewJeans’ parents to reach out to HYBE for consultation aimed at a resolution. Unfortunately, both parties were unable to come to an agreement. HYBE stated that after reviewing 7-8 minutes of CCTV footage, it was observed that Hanni and the ILLIT members acknowledged each other and denied that the manager made the controversial remark.
The NewJeans members took action three months later following the removal of CEO Min Hee-jin from her leadership role at ADOR. Previously, their parents expressed concerns that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk did not reciprocate their greetings when approached multiple times. HYBE later responded, suggesting that “Chairman Bang may have facial recognition disorders.”
Ultimately, the NewJeans members demanded the reinstatement of Min to her CEO position within two weeks. Given this specific timeframe, speculation has risen regarding the potential for legal action from HYBE. The music industry is watching closely, as there is a strong possibility that NewJeans may pursue a lawsuit to terminate their exclusive contract. Typically, such lawsuits begin with a demand to the entertainer’s agency and include an injunction to halt the validity of the contract if no resolution is reached within a designated period.
A KPOP official noted, “After facing ‘personnel controversy’ and experiencing heightened distrust towards HYBE, the members of NewJeans seem to have aligned themselves with former CEO Min. Through this live broadcast, it appears they have crossed a line and are unlikely to return to HYBE.”
However, it is highly unlikely that HYBE will accept the group’s demand to reinstate former CEO Min. Currently, HYBE has filed a complaint against her for alleged breach of trust. Analysts predict that, given the severity of the conflict, reconciliation is improbable.
If legal proceedings commence, discussions around possible penalties will be critical. The Fair Trade Commission’s standardized contract typically enforces penalties calculated by multiplying the average monthly sales from the previous two years by the number of remaining months in the contract, which could result in a penalty estimate for NewJeans of approximately 300 billion won. The group is not expected to opt for paying a penalty to secure their freedom.
An official speculated, “NewJeans will likely seek justification for exiting the company without incurring penalties, while HYBE will concentrate on gathering evidence that former CEO Min initiated the ‘suspicion of tampering’—the root cause of the conflict. HYBE alleges that former CEO Min intended to attract outside investors to make ADOR independent and seek to take NewJeans with her.”
Following the fallout from NewJeans’ livestream, HYBE’s stock price dropped by around 6%, closing the trading day at 169,000 won, marking a decrease of 2.82%.
Source: Market Insight
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