Once a Leading 4th Gen Girl Group, NewJeans Now Trapped in the Conflict Between HYBE and Min Hee Jin

As of late April 2024, the ongoing power struggle between HYBE Corporation and the “creator” of NewJeans continues to escalate without any signs of resolution. The conflict has reached new levels of intensity, with the latest update revealing that HYBE has removed Min Hee Jin from her position as CEO of ADOR and appointed a new leader. This sudden and significant personnel change, just before the highly anticipated NewJeans’ World Tour, has caused confusion and chaos among the public.

Without any prior announcement, NewJeans made a surprise debut in July 2022. The girl group was the brainchild of Min Hee Jin, former creative director of SM, and marked her collaboration with Korea’s top entertainment company. With their modern energy and distinctive concept, NewJeans took the K-pop world by storm like a whirlwind.

Over the course of two years, NewJeans quickly rose to become one of the most successful groups in the global market. They achieved chart success on the Billboard Hot 100, consistently earned Perfect All-Kills, and were honored with multiple prestigious Daesang awards.

newjeans thumbnail — It didn’t take long for NewJeans to claim dominance over K-pop.

It was unimaginable that NewJeans would ever come to a breaking point, yet here they are. With Min Hee Jin’s departure, the group’s future is now uncertain with no clear path ahead. Three members of NewJeans have expressed their confusion and fear as they adjust to Min Hee Jin’s absence as their leader.

Lately, HYBE has been making consistent actions that have a detrimental effect on NewJeans. South Korean media has gone as far as to label this as a “trace erasure,” as HYBE has put NewJeans in a precarious position where they could potentially be eliminated.

On September 2, ADOR’s new CEO took action by hiding all videos on the Ban Hee Soo YouTube channel, which contained content related to NewJeans’ “concept world”. As a result, Director Shin Woo Seok, who was responsible for NewJeans’ popular MVs, was prohibited from using behind-the-scenes footage. In response, the director stated that he would no longer be working with HYBE and expressed disappointment in having to halt his ongoing projects with NewJeans.

NewJeans fans are expressing great concern over this issue, asserting that the group is being marginalized. In the past, Chairman Bang Si Hyuk has faced accusations of showing bias against NewJeans. HYBE had previously proposed a suspension of NewJeans’ activities for 1 year and 6 months, which would have halted the group’s success at its peak.

In the midst of the “Min Hee Jin stealing trainees from Source Music”scandal, HYBE shared pre-debut videos, images, and information about NewJeans with Dispatch. This resulted in a serious breach of personal information, leading to Min Hee Jin’s decision to file a lawsuit.

Despite multiple details pointed out by fans, it is clear that HYBE is intentionally putting NewJeans in a difficult position. As a result, the five girls are now vulnerable and HYBE’s actions are jeopardizing the success of their “creation.”The future of NewJeans remains uncertain and unanswered.