A famous girl group is at risk of being “cancelled”.
For the first time in K-pop’s 30-year history, an internal power struggle is negatively impacting the entire entertainment industry. In April 2024, HYBE sparked a conflict with its subsidiary label ADOR by accusing Min Hee-jin, the woman behind NewJeans, of plotting to “take over the management.” HYBE began a purge by publicly auditing ADOR’s management and demanding Min Hee-jin’s resignation.
The tables turned when Min Hee-jin held a public press conference in response to HYBE. He accused the conglomerate of “stealing intellectual property” and plagiarizing NewJeans to create a new group, ILLIT, along with numerous injustices he suffered while working under Bang Si-hyuk. Due to this disruption, the court ruled in favor of Min Hee-jin.
As a result, HYBE was not allowed to remove Min Hee-jin from her position as CEO until the end of her term. However, the company eventually ousted NewJeans’ “mother” by appointing a new CEO for ADOR at the end of August.
Min Hee-jin was stripped of her CEO title, leaving NewJeans in disarray. Three out of five members expressed concerns to their fans. On September 8, NewJeans attended the 2024 The Fact Music Awards, where they openly thanked Min Hee-jin while completely ignoring ADOR’s new CEO. This gesture showed that the group stood with Min Hee-jin. During this grueling battle, NewJeans’ parents also showed her unconditional support.
However, this raises concerns that NewJeans may be “cancelled.” In this power struggle among the top brass at HYBE, NewJeans is just a pawn, being fought over mercilessly. HYBE has not hesitated to release damaging information, pushing NewJeans into a corner.
NewJeans missed two major HYBE events this year, including Weverse Con 2024 and a collaboration show at the Grammys. On September 2, ADOR’s new CEO hid all videos on Ban Hee Soo’s YouTube channel that had uploaded content related to the “concept world” NewJeans represented. Director Shin Woo-seok, the person behind NewJeans’ popular MVs, was banned from using related behind-the-scenes footage.
HYBE had previously planned for NewJeans to shut down operations for 1 year and 6 months. Pre-debut videos, images, and information about NewJeans were also leaked, severely violating their privacy. Fans believe that NewJeans is isolated from its own parent company and is at risk of a prolonged shutdown.
After their Japanese debut with the double single “Supernatural,” NewJeans had plans to release a full-length album and begin their first world tour. However, given the current situation, with Min Hee-jin no longer overseeing their production, these plans remain uncertain. The future of NewJeans is the most uncertain thing at the moment.
HYBE continues to spark outrage
HYBE, built on the foundations of Big Hit and catapulted to global success by BTS, has not been overshadowed in recent years. The conglomerate has expanded its influence, acquiring several small and medium-sized entertainment companies and increasing its presence in the United States. In terms of revenue, HYBE has risen to the top, surpassing the BIG 3 (SM, JYP, and YG) thanks to its large roster of artists, led by global superstars BTS. In less than five years, HYBE has become the largest entertainment company in South Korea.
However, happiness is fleeting. The company has shown signs of crisis since BTS entered military service break. It is now clear that 2024 is the busiest year for the emerging entertainment empire. The dispute with Min Hee-jin has exposed a number of truths. HYBE not only has problems with NewJeans, but also continues to “provoke” the fandoms of other groups under its management. In the first week of September alone, the company faced 4 controversies that infuriated the fans of its groups.
First, there’s ENHYPEN’s hectic schedule. On September 1st, BELIFT LAB, the subsidiary that manages ENHYPEN, announced that they will be starting their “Walk The Line” world tour on October 5th, 2024, just one month after completing their “Fate” tour. This means that for over a year, ENHYPEN have been constantly touring non-stop. Adding to their touring schedule are preparations for their comeback.
The fourth-generation boy group has been trapped in an endless cycle of rehearsals, performances, and preparations for new releases, leaving them no time to “breathe.” The members have suffered injuries and their health has been seriously affected. As a result, ENHYPEN fans have launched a campaign to “boycott their idols’ concerts” in protest against the company’s schedule.
Numerous posts calling for fairness for ENHYPEN reflect fans’ frustration with HYBE. While these actions stem from good intentions, they also come with dire consequences, and the artists are the first to suffer.
In another development, Pledis’s million-selling boy group SEVENTEEN is also struggling with a busy end-of-year tour schedule that spans the U.S. and Japan. The schedule has become more hurried as SEVENTEEN’s Korean members are gradually approaching military enlistment. SEVENTEEN has confirmed a second comeback this year with their 12th mini album, scheduled for release in October.
However, with the comeback approaching, the company has yet to release any information about the new album. Instead, in early September, Pledis released trading cards from the previous “17 Is Right Here” era, in a blatant attempt to milk the fandom. This move has left SEVENTEEN’s fanbase feeling exploited. Fans are disgruntled and have criticized the company, and ultimately HYBE, which has near-total control over Pledis.
On September 5, HYBE “angered” BTS fans. Several fancams of member V were copyrighted by the company, causing them to disappear from YouTube. Over the years, V has accumulated countless fancams with tens or even hundreds of millions of views. This issue is unique to V. Many fan sites have lost their fancams and are furious because these are fans’ precious memories with their idols.
Despite being a leader in terms of revenue among entertainment companies, HYBE has still suffered losses in the market. Recently, HYBE’s stock has been steadily falling due to its “scandalous streak”. Many BTS fans have sarcastically commented that HYBE’s financial difficulties have forced them to claim the copyright of the artists’ fancams for “some money”.
In addition to these incidents, HYBE is often criticized by the fandom for the poor care of the artists. The group members often suffer injuries, especially to the legs. Lack of security at airports, leading to jostling and shoving that hits the idols, is a regular occurrence.
Nicknamed the “Kpop Destroyer”
HYBE operates under the motto “We believe in music,” but in every way, this has become more ironic as the truth has been exposed. The head of the conglomerate, BTS’s “father” and HYBE president Bang Si-hyuk, doesn’t seem to believe much in music. After these scandals, many netizens sarcastically suggest that HYBE’s real motto is “We believe in money,” meaning doing anything for profit.
Bang Si-hyuk has been called the “Destroyer of K-pop.” Toxic trends initiated by HYBE, such as producing “fast food music” (songs under 3 minutes) and girl groups that do not prioritize talent, have been heavily criticized. In a documentary about the creation of multinational girl group KATSEYE, HYBE’s president faced backlash for saying that “talent is not a priority when looking for idols, but rather the quality of the stars.” This revealed why HYBE groups share a common weakness: poor skills, especially among girl groups cultivated by the company.
From LE SSERAFIM and NewJeans to ILLIT, everyone is rated poorly in terms of their abilities. The most notable case is LE SSERAFIM. Their disastrous live performance at Coachella 2024 severely damaged their image. To this day, LE SSERAFIM has failed to recover their reputation and is disliked in Korea, being labeled as a “national embarrassment”. The blame falls entirely on their management company.
The dispute with Min Hee-jin also exposed the dark side of HYBE, a company known for plagiarism and recycling concepts. ILLIT was directly cited by Min Hee-jin as a product copied from her work with NewJeans. Meanwhile, NewJeans itself was accused of having similarities with the Mexican Jeans Group.
Furthermore, it is not difficult to find numerous “references” that HYBE has used to create products and concepts for their artists. Talentless idols and a plagiarizing company: these are the harsh conclusions that the public draws from HYBE today.
HYBE has also been labeled as a “water pumping company,” accused of inflating false successes for its artists. One example is rookie boy group TWS under Pledis. Although they debuted without much fanfare and remain largely unknown, their debut song “Plot Twist” is a strong contender for the year-end Daesang Awards thanks to its high rankings on the digital charts.
When the song debuted earlier this year, K-pop fans pointed out several irregularities. The charts did not reflect the real situation. TWS was accused of manipulating the charts.
Chasing short-term gains and creating numerous toxic trends, HYBE has found itself in a difficult situation. The company’s revenues are decreasing and public criticism is increasing, despite its rapid growth over the past 5 years. All of this is happening at a time when BTS, the founder of HYBE, is not active as a group and when the public’s tolerance for scandals is at an all-time low. Today, Bang Si-hyuk is faced with an undeniable fact: HYBE is being called the “Destroyer of K-pop,” for ruining the legacy that BTS and Big Hit once built.
Source: K14
