The ongoing feud between HYBE and ADOR has escalated dramatically, with a bombshell email from the parents of the members of NewJeans, accusing the global conglomerate agency of mistreatment. Following reports of HYBE appointing a new CEO for its subsidiary, which is the parent company of the girl group, allegations of mistreatment of the five members – Danielle, Hanni, Minji, Hyein, and Haerin – by HYBE and its executives have come to light.
On May 13, Ilgan Sports revealed an email from the parents of NewJeans. Originally directed to ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, it was later forwarded to BELIFT LAB. The email delineates the parents’ recommendations and apprehensions regarding ILLIT’s debut, disclosed by the parents and legal representatives of NewJeans members.
“We find that it’s unfortunate that the recent girl group that debuted under a HYBE label has caused controversy over plagiarizing NewJeans. We feel that the similarities were intentionally made by HYBE and BELIFT LAB,” a statement from the email read.
The parents of the group members also voiced criticism against HYBE’s marketing strategy and queried Min Hee-jin about whether she had authorized ILLIT to use choreography from NewJeans. “Moreover, marketing a new team in a way that cunningly draws comparisons to NewJeans poses a greater problem. Did ADOR give permission to use choreography with identical motions? If these situations continue, this will undoubtedly damage NewJeans’ reputation and brand value.”
Most startling were the allegations against HYBE’s CEO, concerning his alleged mistreatment of the group. “We wonder why HYBE’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk ignored the NewJeans members and their greetings whenever he ran into them at the company. First, we had doubts when we heard from the children, ‘He must not have recognized us,’ and asked them again several times. However, this happened on several occasions, and as there were times when they ran into him alone on different dates and different locations, he must have recognized the members to be NewJeans.”
Additionally, the email also reads claims of how HYBE promised NewJeans, who were trainees under another subsidiary, SOURCE MUSIC, that they would be the label’s first girl group. “The broken promise of NewJeans being the first girl group under HYBE and the endless waiting and neglect experienced by the NewJeans members when they were SOURCE MUSIC trainees are unforgettable nightmares.” The girl group that debuted first ended up being LE SSERAFIM.
“With heavy hearts, we officially request that ADOR’s CEO Min Hee-jin, who is in charge of NewJeans’ management contracts, to take measures to block the infringement activities against NewJeans by HYBE / BELIFT LAB and to protect their brand value,” a statement from the mail read.
ADOR confirmed to media outlet Joy News24 that emails containing the aforementioned contents were indeed sent to HYBE. Despite the ongoing situation, NewJeans persists in their promotional activities.
Additionally, ADOR is scheduled to convene another meeting on May 31.
