This year can be said to be the biggest ups and downs for the popular girl group NewJeans. Min Hee-Jin, the ace producer who created them, has been in constant dispute with HYBE since April this year. After several months of disputes, NewJeans finally announced on the 29th that it will be with the agency The contract was officially terminated. As soon as the news came out, HYBE's stock price evaporated by 13 billion overnight! What happened in the middle? Where will the group go in the future? This lazy guide will let you know in seconds.
Min Hee-jin created NewJeans
Min Hee-jin, who originally worked as a graphic designer at SM Entertainment, gradually became the creative director of SM because of her bold creativity combined with avant-garde visual style, taking her artists on a completely different route from the formulaic first-generation K-pop idols. In 2018, After leaving SM Entertainment, where he stayed for 16 years, he joined BTS's company HYBE Group as the brand director the next year. Later, he established a subsidiary ADOR and made Min Hee-jin the person in charge. He then used his youthful image, Y2K visual style, and the belt to With House's innovative music style, they have carved their way into the highly competitive K-Pop girl group. They have broken many girl group records in just two years since their debut and are said to be the most representative girl group of the fifth generation. Not an exaggeration at all.
HYBE fires Min Hee-jin without warning
However, since April this year, Min Hee-jin and HYBE have been accusing each other of business obstruction and plagiarism disputes. After nearly a month, the two parties seemed willing to reconcile, but on July 27, HYBE unilaterally announces the dismissal of Min Hee-Jin as CEO of ADOR, but still serves as the managing director of ADOR, and is focused on the production of NewJeans, once again occupying the major entertainment news pages. Many fans are worried that the group will be frozen by the company indefinitely, and a war between the two sides is about to break out?
NewJeans big move goes live
Until September 30, five members of NewJeans launched a live broadcast to accuse HYBE. During the nearly 30-minute live broadcast, they complained one by one about being ignored by staff in the company and having their private records disclosed. They believed that the trust between both parties had been shattered. , it was difficult to work together... The haggard appearance of the five members also made everyone feel distressed. Although the live broadcast was taken down within a few hours after it was broadcast, the relevant news had already spread around the world, and NewJeans even filed a lawsuit with the court. A petition was submitted, and ADOR also issued a statement shortly after, stating that Min Hee-jin continues to serve as the producer of NewJeans and an internal director of the company. Her repeated behavior has left everyone confused and clueless.
NewJeans' unilateral announcement of contract termination shocked the entertainment industry
Unexpectedly, NewJeans was serious this time. The group held a press conference on the evening of November 28th, announcing that it would officially terminate its contract with the agency at midnight on the 29th on the grounds that "the company ignored their demands and did not have the ability and will to protect them." , became the first group of artists in the history of K-Pop to announce the termination of their contract with the company. As soon as the news came out, HYBE's stock price crashed 7% overnight, and its market value of US$ 423 million evaporated! According to Korean media reports, if NewJeans wants to forcefully terminate the contract, they will have to pay a sky-high liquidated damages of at least 600 billion won. However, some fans analyzed the contract between the two parties and explained that the contract stated that as long as it infringes or hinders NewJeans' performance, The "right of termination" can be exercised during the event, so NewJeans is believed to have the confidence to "not pay liquidated damages."
What's next for NewJeans?
With the unilateral termination of cooperation between NewJeans and ADOR, it goes without saying that both parties will have to face endless legal battles and public opinion... However, NewJeans also stated that the signed activities will be carried out according to the original plan. , the group was also captured heading to the Japan Music Festival a few days ago. Maybe NewJeans still can't figure out the answer for a while, but I believe that both NewJeans and Bunnies sincerely hope to find a stage where they can just sing and dance!
