“Honestly, I would listen to the producer who made me a star, regardless of whether he is right or wrong, if I could receive 5.2 billion won. It’s just what people do.” (Music planner A)
“In fact, they could receive 5.2 billion won as a salary because they used HYBE’s investment, human resources, and platform. Imagine Min had to hire employees and select interns from the street, feed them, give them a place to sleep, and train them. Can he really give them 5.2 billion won in such a situation? In order for the company to get back to work, they need to hire new interns and train them. NewJeans was able to achieve such results only with the support of HYBE without having to pay such expenses. I don’t think the parents and children know what is really going on.” (Song Planner B)
Most K-pop officials shared, “We recognize former CEO Min’s outstanding manufacturing capabilities that took NewJeans to the top, but crossed the line by asking the company to bring Min back (as CEO),” adding, “It is very likely to turn into a lawsuit, claiming that their trust in the parent company will be broken by using fandom sentiments through the NewJeans “bullying controversy” issue.
While it is impossible to even confirm whether Hanni’s isolation is true or not, another observation shows the group’s intention to create a “bad new mom” image for the new CEO, telling fans about the problem related to their emotions.
A K-pop insider said: “The new CEO Kim Joo-young is a management expert who was in charge of human resources,” adding, “It is not right for Min, who has also worked as a producer and manager, to refer to Kim as her stepmother for proposing the concept of ‘mom.’ Furthermore, for a company’s CEO to refer to herself as the members’ ‘mom’ is an act of gaslighting. If an employee from another K-pop agency has such a close relationship with the members, it could lead to their dismissal,” adding: “President Bang Si-hyuk also refused to be called the ‘father of BTS.’
K-pop officials said the reason for the incident was that the trust between the members, their parents, and former CEO Min had strengthened as the members received 5.2 billion won per person from the “New Jeans Miracle.” They also pointed out that HYBE’s support to help them earn the huge amount of money was backfiring on them.
A K-pop official said: “I recognize Min’s ability. It is Lee Soo-man, the former founder of SM Entertainment, who made the best use of his ability,” adding, “However, when Min worked at SM, Lee Soo-man made more than 80% of the decisions. His salaries were also the same as those of ordinary employees.”
As a result, the official said that HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who supported Min with human and material resources such as unconventional salaries, incentives and a CEO position, has become a popular “stupid guy” nowadays.
He also pointed out that there is a problem with internal employees, who did not foresee this situation and failed to protect anxious members after Min’s departure, and with HYBE management, who failed to suppress the situation.
Since the members of NewJeans have declared war on the management company, there is a possibility that the “NewJeans Miracle” will collapse in the future.
They interpret that the reason why they set the 25th, 14 days later, as the deadline for the management is that it usually takes two weeks to submit and correct complaints to cancel their exclusive contract. The prevailing opinion of music executives is that the members, who are in their late teens and lack legal knowledge, made such remarks after a coaching session by former CEO Min. However, the members emphasized that they planned it voluntarily in the video.
If NewJeans members enter into an exclusive contract dispute with management, a penalty of at least 300 billion won could be imposed. The Fair Trade Commission’s standard exclusive contract imposes a penalty by multiplying the average monthly sales of the previous two years by the number of months remaining in the contract based on the termination period.
Last year, ADOR’s sales amounted to 110.3 billion KRW. Therefore, the penalty will be more than 300 billion KRW if members file a lawsuit.
However, considering the popularity of K-pop in the global market and the skill of former CEO Min, some argue that they may receive investments in exchange for such sanctions from foreign companies.
An official predicted, “Former CEO Min has already established herself as a more famous producer than a singer with a press conference in April,” adding, “There is a possibility that members will terminate their exclusive contract with HYBE and operate in overseas markets with Min rather than in the domestic market.”
Another official said: “In any case, in the end, the NewJeans miracle that the public loved collapsed.”
Source: daum
