Revealed: HYBE’s Strategy to Potentially Dismiss NewJeans

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in South Korea has recently released internal audits related to HYBE Corporation.

One notable section concerning the agency’s girl group strategy indicates that there have been discussions about potentially dropping NewJeans from its lineup.

With the addition of ILLIT to HYBE’s girl group family—which already features NewJeans and LE SSERAFIM—various media have started calling this collective “New-I-LE,” highlighting them as the fresh face of HYBE idols.

The document outlines plans to eliminate “New” from the branding and establish a category for girl groups that achieve million-seller status within their debut week, thereby promoting LE SSERAFIM more effectively.

According to the report, it notes: “The phrase ‘New-I-LE’ featuring NewJeans, ILLIT, and LE SSERAFIM has started gaining traction online, with ILLIT seeing a slight rise in visibility…

Presently, we can classify Blackpink, LE SSERAFIM, aespa, and IVE as million-selling girl groups during their first week, instead of segmenting them by generational tiers. Our focus on the ‘New-I-LE’ concept has persisted long enough; it’s time to retire ‘New’ and develop a new term.”

Previously, on October 21, a thread titled “HYBE IM’s 4 Billion Internal Transaction with Ador Amid Dispute (NewJeans Settlement Issue)” surfaced on the Korean online forum theqoo.

This thread referenced a news piece highlighting a concerning internal financial exchange between ADOR and HYBE IM, the parent corporation’s gaming subsidiary.

The article cited industry insiders, detailing that in late September, an internal transaction of 4.2 billion KRW (approximately 3 million USD) flowed from ADOR to HYBE IM during the third quarter.

Out of this amount, HYBE IM recorded 4.1 billion KRW (about 2.9 million USD) as revenue from ADOR, while ADOR only claimed 90 million KRW (around 65,000 USD) from HYBE IM.

Both parties suggested the transaction pertains to royalties related to games, yet doubts linger over whether HYBE is artificially boosting its business revenue utilizing ADOR’s success, which has been bolstered by NewJeans’ popularity.

Typically, if an artist associated with a HYBE label is featured in a game, the revenue should be acknowledged by their label. However, in this scenario, it appears that ADOR is compensating HYBE IM for game-related services.

Last August, HYBE IM included NewJeans in an update for their game “Rhythm Hive.” Given that NewJeans falls under ADOR, and HYBE IM utilized their intellectual property, it seems ADOR should have earned the revenue from this usage.

An insider has commented, “HYBE is attempting to secure tens of billions of won in quarterly revenue from ADOR, while HYBE IM, still stabilizing, is registering revenue under ambiguous conditions. This could diminish artists’ settlement amounts and create further disputes.”

In response, a HYBE spokesperson remarked, “Confirming specific details regarding internal transactions is challenging.”

Consequently, numerous internet users are raising suspicions about HYBE potentially siphoning funds from the company managing NewJeans to enhance the performance of its gaming subsidiary.