Official Complaint Filed with HYBE, Dismissal Procedure Notified
Legitimate Protest Against NewJeans Brand Value Infringement
Amid rising conflict between HYBE, the largest K-pop agency, and Min Hee-jin, CEO of its subsidiary label ADOR, Min rebutted that the core issue is not a takeover of management rights but rather Ailead's 'NewJeans copy'.
On the afternoon of the 22nd, ADOR (CEO Min Hee-jin) issued an official statement saying, "To protect our artist NewJeans and to promote the healthy development of Korea's music industry and culture, we publicly express our position on the 'Ailead’s NewJeans copy incident,'" adding, "Ironically, the cultural achievements made by ADOR and its artist NewJeans are being most severely infringed upon by HYBE."
ADOR stated, "Billlieve Lab, one of HYBE’s labels, debuted the five-member female idol group Ailead this March. Ailead copies NewJeans in every aspect of their entertainment activities, including hair, makeup, costumes, choreography, photography, video, and event appearances," and claimed, "HYBE’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk produced Ailead’s debut album. The NewJeans copy by Ailead is not an act by Billlieve Lab alone but involves HYBE."
They also emphasized, "ADOR has already officially raised issues with HYBE and Billlieve Lab regarding this copying incident as well as a series of behaviors HYBE has taken against NewJeans. However, HYBE and Billlieve Lab have neither admitted wrongdoing nor taken responsibility; instead, they have been quick to make excuses, delayed providing concrete answers, and stalled for time."
They continued, "Then, on the 22nd, HYBE suddenly notified us that they would suspend and dismiss Min Hee-jin from her CEO position, citing concerns that Min’s actions 'could significantly damage ADOR’s corporate value.' At the same time, HYBE attempted absurd media manipulation by claiming Min tried to 'seize management rights.' We find it utterly incomprehensible how a legitimate protest to protect the cultural achievements of our artist NewJeans could harm ADOR’s interests or be construed as an act of management rights takeover. We believe there is some ulterior motive at play," they pointed out.
ADOR stated, "HYBE, Billlieve Lab, and Chairman Bang Si-hyuk have not offered a proper apology or measures regarding this incident. They seem to think that simply expelling CEO Min Hee-jin from the company will resolve everything. ADOR will mobilize all possible means and methods to protect the cultural achievements NewJeans has built and to prevent further infringements caused by copying," adding, "ADOR cannot stand idly by while various unfair acts continue against ADOR and NewJeans, including copying."
Earlier, HYBE began an audit on CEO Min Hee-jin and ADOR executive A. HYBE’s audit team activated its audit rights after uncovering evidence that these ADOR executives leaked confidential contracts and induced the sale of ADOR shares owned by HYBE.
HYBE also suspects that executive A abused their position to pass internal HYBE information to ADOR. Industry insiders believe HYBE’s immediate response was triggered by the judgment that these actions by ADOR’s management were attempts to 'de-HYBE' and seize management rights over ADOR.
Accordingly, HYBE requested ADOR to convene a shareholders’ meeting and sent a letter demanding Min’s resignation on the same day.
Currently, CEO Min Hee-jin holds 18% (573,160 shares) of ADOR’s stock, making her the second-largest shareholder. Last year in Q1, HYBE reduced its 100% stake in ADOR to 80%. Min exercised a call option to purchase 18% of ADOR shares, becoming the second-largest shareholder after HYBE. The remaining 2% (70,840 shares) is held by another ADOR executive.
ADOR was established in 2021 by HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk with a capital investment of 16.1 billion KRW. The popular girl group NewJeans is currently signed under ADOR. In 2023, ADOR recorded sales of 110.2 billion KRW, operating profit of 33.5 billion KRW, and net profit of 26.5 billion KRW.
Below is the full text of ADOR’s official statement.
'ADOR’s Official Position on the ‘Ailead’s NewJeans Copy Incident’
Hello, this is ADOR Co., Ltd. (hereinafter 'ADOR', CEO Min Hee-jin).
To protect our artist NewJeans and to promote the healthy development of Korea’s music industry and culture, ADOR publicly expresses its position on the 'Ailead’s NewJeans copy incident.'
HYBE operates a multi-label system where various labels independently create their own music to pursue cultural diversity. ADOR is one of those labels. However, ironically, the cultural achievements made by ADOR and its artist NewJeans are being most severely infringed upon by HYBE.
One of HYBE’s labels, Billlieve Lab, debuted the five-member female idol group Ailead this March. After Ailead’s teaser photos were released, online reactions exploded with comments like 'I thought it was NewJeans.' Ailead copies NewJeans in every aspect of their entertainment activities, including hair, makeup, costumes, choreography, photography, video, and event appearances. Ailead has been described as 'Min Hee-jin style,' 'Min Hee-jin type,' and 'a NewJeans derivative.'
This is truly shameful. HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk produced Ailead’s debut album. The NewJeans copy by Ailead is not an act by Billlieve Lab alone but involves HYBE. As a leading company in K-pop, HYBE, blinded by short-term profits, is shamelessly copying successful cultural content, producing not novelty but banality.
NewJeans is currently preparing for a comeback in May. Yet, Ailead has summoned NewJeans, who are not currently active. The appearance of a derivative group has exhausted NewJeans’ image and dragged fans and the public into unnecessary controversy, causing worry and fatigue. Although HYBE and Billlieve Lab are responsible for creating this situation, the damage falls entirely on ADOR and NewJeans.
Some respond that since Ailead is a HYBE subsidiary label, similarities with NewJeans are understandable. Some even speculate that ADOR and NewJeans have allowed or tolerated these similarities. However, these responses are clearly misunderstandings, and we wish to correct them. The multi-label system is designed to allow each label to independently pursue the music they want, not to excuse other labels copying the cultural achievements of one label simply because they are affiliated.
Moreover, ADOR has never permitted or tolerated anyone, including HYBE and Billlieve Lab, to copy NewJeans’ achievements. ADOR does not want any association between NewJeans and Ailead in any form. We will never allow promotional tactics that label one group as a 'younger sibling group' just because they debuted under a HYBE subsidiary label.
ADOR has already officially raised issues with HYBE and Billlieve Lab regarding this copying incident and a series of behaviors HYBE has taken against NewJeans. However, HYBE and Billlieve Lab have neither admitted wrongdoing nor taken responsibility; instead, they have been quick to make excuses and delayed providing concrete answers. Meanwhile, on April 22, 2024, HYBE suddenly notified us that they would suspend and dismiss Min Hee-jin from her CEO position, citing concerns that Min’s actions 'could significantly damage ADOR’s corporate value.' At the same time, HYBE attempted absurd media manipulation by claiming Min tried to 'seize management rights.' We find it utterly incomprehensible how a legitimate protest to protect the cultural achievements of our artist NewJeans could harm ADOR’s interests or be construed as an act of management rights takeover. We believe there is some ulterior motive at play.
HYBE, Billlieve Lab, and Chairman Bang Si-hyuk have not offered a proper apology or measures regarding this incident. They seem to think that simply expelling CEO Min Hee-jin from the company will resolve everything. However, ADOR has no intention of backing down. ADOR will mobilize all possible means and methods to protect the cultural achievements NewJeans has built and to prevent further infringements caused by copying. We want to make it clear that ADOR cannot stand idly by while various unfair acts continue against ADOR and NewJeans, including copying.
HYBE and Billlieve Lab may try to dilute the initial incident by emphasizing only the differences between Ailead and NewJeans as Ailead’s activities increase. Misunderstandings among fans and the public may grow over time. Therefore, after thorough discussions with NewJeans members and their legal representatives, ADOR decided to release this official statement.
We hope this statement will clear up misunderstandings among fans and the public regarding the 'Ailead’s NewJeans copy incident.' We also hope that HYBE and Billlieve Lab will acknowledge their mistakes and, moving forward, respect others’ cultural achievements and contribute to Korea’s music industry and culture through thoughtful and creative work. Thank you.
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