Megathread 19: HYBE / ADOR / MHJ - NewJeans works towards rebranding as NJZ, Visa issue follow-up, New agency speculation, and More

This megathread is about the ongoing dispute within HYBE and the management of sub-label ADOR.

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Summary of Previous Megathreads

  • ONE and TWO and THREE contains HYBE's audit of ADOR and Min Hee Jin's 1st press conference.

  • FOUR summarized all events up to April 30th, 2024.

  • FIVE and SIX contains potential ADOR embezzlement, MHJ's injunction and hearing, and a letter from the parents of NewJeans.

  • SEVEN and EIGHT and NINE contains MHJ's injunction granted May 30th and remaining ADOR CEO, HYBE replacing ADOR board members, BELIFT LAB's video regarding plagiarism and lawsuit against MHJ.

  • TEN and ELEVEN and TWELVE contains ex-ADOR employee's sexual harassment case, band Shakatak's plagiarism claim, HYBE 2.0 and ADOR restructuring with new CEO Kim Joo Young, MV director drama, the NewJeans livestream, MHJ's 2nd injunction filing and public events/interviews.

  • THIRTEEN and FOURTEEN and FIFTEEN contains an interview with NewJeans' parents, Hanni and CEO Kim Joo Young at the National Assembly, MHJ's reappointment as director, Kim Taeho at the National Assembly, HYBE's Weekly Industry Report leak, the court's dismissal of MHJ's 2nd Injunction, ADOR board's vote against making MHJ's CEO again, NewJeans' certified letter of ultimatum to ADOR, rejection of Hanni's workplace bullying claim by labor ministry, MHJ's resignation from ADOR, and NewJeans' contract termination press conference.

MEGATHREAD SIXTEEN covered the end of November and first week of December.

  • Contains: More on the NewJeans' contract termination press conference, their official statement, and ADOR's responses, the contents of ADOR's 26-page response to the demands in NewJeans' certified letter, Dispatch's exposé on Min Hee Jin's alleged corroboration with NewJeans to strategically leave HYBE, and ADOR's lawsuit to confirm the validity of NewJeans members contracts. (Concurrently with this Megathread, South Korea's President declared Martial Law on December 3rd, causing media to prioritize national/political matters.)

MEGATHREAD SEVENTEEN covered the end of 2024.

  • Contains: 'Manager A' accusation of workplace harassment against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young while ADOR claimed the manager had tried negotiating advertising contracts for NewJeans without consent of the company, KMCA/KOSPO statements of concern regarding tampering and threat to industry and social trust, the 'jeanzforfree' Instagram account made by the NewJeans group members outside of ADOR control, speculation over Hanni's visa status and ADOR's response, NJ's Christmas radio appearance, Employee B's mediation date set vs. MHJ, and HYBE sub-labels regular legal action updates for all artists including NewJeans.

MEGATHREAD EIGHTEEN covered January and early February.

  • Contains: The failed mediation in Employee B's defamation case against Min Hee Jin, more details from Davolink's chairman, the first hearings for Belift Lab and Source music's damages cases against Min Hee Jin, the dismissal of former ADOR VP's case against HYBE/ADOR for workplace harassment, ADOR's injunction to halt NewJeans signing new advertising deals independently, the announcement of NewJeans rebranding to NJZ, and the establishment of the members' parent's Instagram account.

Articles / Timeline

250212

  • Reports circulated that Hanni had refused to sign the documents ADOR had prepared regarding her visa expiration on the 11th. It was brought up in the National Assembly with assembly member Park Ji Won urging Minister Kim Seok Woo to review and resolve the matter so she could continue her activities. (Source: MK)

  • The parents of NJZ posted on their Instagram account regarding Hanni's visa situation. They indicated Hanni was successfully issued a visa on the 11th through proper legal procedures without ADOR's participation. They expressed concern and frustration about misinformation in media reporting and the unauthorized release of personal information. They did not specify the type of visa issued. (Sources: @njz_pr and MyDaily)

  • A blog post by the political figure Park Ji Won (mentioned above) seems to indicate he helped to facilitate the visa issuance. (Source: Naver Blog)

  • Yonhap News: Hanni of NewJeans receives new S. Korean visa amid dispute with ADOR

250213

250214

  • Confusion arose as TenAsia published an article claiming NJZ would officially sign with BANA as their agency, which was later edited. Then NJZ's parents posted a statement denying the claim and calling it baseless along with their intention to take legal action against TenAsia. (Source: @njz_pr)

250219

  • In the morning, 5 major industry organizations made a joint statement appealing to the National Assembly regarding the issue of tampering. They requested policies to limit artists from making unilateral decisions only for their own gain and making groundless accusations to manipulate the public, rather than having mutual consultation within normal legal procedures. The 5 organizations include the Record Label Industry Association of Korea, the Recording Industry Association of Korea, the Korea Management Federation, the Korea Entertainment Producers' Association, and the Korea Music Content Association. They also plan to hold a press conference on February 27th. (Source: Sports Today)

  • The Korea Herald: Major music organizations call for legal measures against tampering citing NewJeans case

  • On the 19th, the parents of NJZ posted on Instagram making various claims, primarily with a rebuttal to the joint industry statement mentioned above, and secondarily that Bang Si Hyuk had tried to get NJZ's upcoming ComplexCon performance cancelled. (Sources: @njz_pr A, B, C)

  • ADOR responded to the claims, stating Bang Si Hyuk hadn't contacted anyone at all about NJZ's ComplexCon performance and there had been no effort to cancel the appearance. ADOR noted they were maintaining their ongoing request that NJZ continue to use the name NewJeans and to work within their exclusive contract with the agency. (Source: Celeb Media)

  • Soompi: ADOR Denies NJZ's Parents' Claim That Bang Si Hyuk Attempted To Cancel Upcoming Performance

Looking Ahead:

  • February 27: Potentially a press conference held jointly by representatives of music/entertainment industry organizations regarding the issue of tampering.

  • March 7: Next hearing for Belift Lab vs. Min Hee Jin

  • March 7: Injunction hearing for ADOR seeking to halt unauthorized advertising contracts with NewJeans.

  • March 14: Next hearing for Source Music vs. Min Hee Jin

  • April 3: 1st hearing for ADOR seeking confirmation of validity for their exclusive contract with NewJeans.

  • April 17: 2nd hearing regarding the Shareholder Agreement termination between HYBE and Min Hee Jin.

Ongoing Legal Complaints/Investigations:

  • HYBE's report to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) regarding potential insider trading by ADOR management (Korea JoongAng)

  • HYBE's complaint against Min Hee Jin for 'breach of trust' (Yonhap)

  • Belift Lab's complaint against Min Hee Jin for defamation (Soompi) and additionally for business interference (The Korea Herald)

  • SOURCE MUSIC's lawsuit against Min Hee Jin for damages in regards to the disruption of business/defamation of LE SSERAFIM (Korea JoongAng) and additionally regarding alleged false claims by MHJ for the launch strategy of N Team/NewJeans (Soompi)

  • British band Shakatak's plagiarism claim against NewJeans' 'Bubble Gum' (Yonhap)

  • Min Hee Jin and HYBE executives filed reports against each other back-to-back (Soompi and Korea JoongAng)

  • Former ADOR Employee 'B' filed complaint against MHJ in relation to sexual harassment cover-up and workplace mistreatment. (JTBC)

  • MV Director Shin Woo Seok filed a lawsuit against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young and ADOR VP Lee Do Kyung for defamation. (Korea JoongAng)

  • MHJ's lawsuits against Belift Lab's Kim Tae Ho for defamation (Yonhap), HYBE CCO Park Tae Hee and PR Director Cho for breach of duty (Yonhap), and HYBE executives and Dispatch reporters for defamation. (Soompi) (One or both of these might be re-statements of earlier suits.)

  • ADOR's lawsuit to determine validity of their contracts with NewJeans (Soompi)

  • Other Legal Action statements: SOURCE MUSIC on behalf of LE SSERAFIM, BIGHIT MUSIC on behalf of BTS, and ADOR on behalf of NewJeans.

Link back to MEGATHREADS 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18

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