NewJeans, Min Hee-jin, a summary of the hybe incident as seen from Min Hee-jin's press conference

On April 22, 2024, hybe began an internal audit and search and seizure, claiming that circumstances surrounding CEO Min Hee-jin's attempt to seize ADOR management rights were revealed.
hybe claimed that CEO Min Hee-jin leaked business secrets and sought ways to have hybe sell its ADOR shares to the Singapore Investment Board and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

CEO Min Hee-jin immediately explained.
He claimed that when he blew the whistle, hybe was accusing him of being the ADOR hijacker and attacking him with media play.

And three days later, CEO Min Hee-jin held a press conference.
To see how well-founded and persuasive the claims made at the press conference were, I collected and summarized as much objective data as possible from the standpoint of Min Hee-jin's favoritism. (Subjective content will be colored as in this text.)

ILLIT's plagiarism and copying suspicions

It is said that even before Min Hee-jin raised the issue, NewJeans parents expressed concerns to Min Hee-jin that ILLIT was imitating NewJeans.
It was presented based on the fact that the concept photos, styling, music video direction, choreography, and in-house content were similar, and that the ILLIT agency hired a staff member during their debut who had no experience working with other idols and was solely in charge of NewJeans.

concept, photo

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

YouTube credits

NewJeans YouTube Credits

ILLIT YouTube Credits

LE SSERAFIM YouTube Credit

BTS YouTube Credits

logo typo

logo typography design

dance

NewJeans Choreography 1

ILLIT Choreography 1

NewJeans Choreography 2

ILLIT Choreography 2

NewJeans Choreography 3

ILLIT Choreography 3

NewJeans Choreography 4

ILLIT Choreography 4

NewJeans Choreography 5

ILLIT Choreography 5

National Palace Hanbok pictorial

Pictorial 1

Pictorial 2

Pictorial 3

Pictorial 4

Idol Hanbok pictorial before NewJeans

There is a claim that idol hanbok pictorials were common even before NewJeans, so related images are attached for reference.

It was mentioned that the tone and manner of the audition poster and
the audition moving poster were similar.

Plus Audition Poster (Min Hee-jin)

Belif Lab Audition Poster

Plus Audition Moving Poster (Min Hee-jin)

Belif Lab Audition Moving Poster

Although it was not the intention to hold a luxury event before the debut,
NewJeans stood at a Chanel event before the debut stage, and ILLIT also claimed that it was doubtful whether they were imitating NewJeans by standing at the Acne Studio Fashion Week event before the debut stage.

Summary
The core of the copying suspicion raised by Min Hee-jin is that Belif Lab is suspected of blatantly copying NewJeans, which was released only about a year ago, and did not seek prior consent from ADOR.
Moreover, what is even more serious is that the issue of suspicion of copying occurred not among other companies but between labels within Hybe.
Min Hee-jin said he doubted whether hybe was trying to make the public think that ILLIT received all the benefits of hybe's internal label.

Min Hee-jin also argued that if this happens, NewJeans' unique branding will become established and all idols will become NewJeans, which will have a negative impact on ILLIT, NewJeans, and the entertainment business as a whole.

hybe's media play and NewJeans obstruction

Min Hee-jin claimed that hybe had been subject to malicious media play to disparage her image for three days.
She collected relevant article titles from that period.

Collection of article titles related to Min Hee-jin from April 22nd to 24th

Among the articles, there was a line that Min Hee-jin said that BTS also copied him, but Min Hee-jin explained at a press conference that he never said such a thing.

hybe told NewJeans' parents that he would make sure that this incident does not cause any harm to NewJeans, but Min Hee-jin asked how it could not cause any harm to NewJeans when the article title says "NewJeans heart" and that the date this incident broke out was the date of NewJeans' comeback. It was also pointed out that it is a time ahead of .

In addition, they questioned whether they were really doing it for NewJeans, saying that they were interfering with work by seizing and searching the vice president's laptop without giving them time to download existing business data.

ADOR takeover plan

Min Hee-jin claimed that he had never seriously thought of seizing ADOR and that such a saddam alone could not constitute breach of trust.
He had already been dissatisfied with Hybe's checks and interference, and when he made the mistake of signing an unreasonable contract that tied him to the company for a long time, he complained with the vice president and made a plan to escape from Hybe as a joke.
For example, isn't it similar to the imagination of an office worker who, if he wins the lottery, will buy the company he was working for, appoint the CEO, and promote some of the employees?

He said he knew it was absolutely impossible, asking how he could take away ADOR when hybe owns 80% of the shares.
He also said that there was an existing precedent for Fifty Fifty, so why would he do something so foolish?

He also said that he was appearing in the media as if he had met people related to the Singapore Investment Board and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, but he said that he had never met such people and that if there were such people, they should be brought in front of me.

No competition

Min Hee-jin also talked about signing an unreasonable contract that could have tied him to Hybe forever.
It is said that they signed the contract only believing Park Ji-won's words, but later found out that there was a problem and had been renegotiating the contract between shareholders since early 2024 in order to fix it.

At the time of the press conference, there was a confidentiality clause, so the entire contents could not be disclosed, but as related information was gradually released, it is assumed that it was due to the ban on competition.
The prohibition on competition is a regulation that restricts starting a company in the same industry for a certain period of time after leaving the company, and is said to be commonly included in contracts between shareholders.

The problem is that the ban on competition will be lifted only if Min Hee-jin disposes of 5% of ADOR's shares, and hybe's prior consent must be obtained to dispose of that 5%.
In other words, if hybe does not agree, he cannot sell his 5% stake, and if he fails to sell his stake, he will continue to be bound by the non-compete clause and will not be able to do entertainment-related work.

Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's attitude change

Chairman Bang Si-hyuk says, “I have become a saint.”

Chairman Bang Si-hyuk says, “Forget about SM and build a Min Hee-jin world.”

Chairman Bang Si-hyuk says he doesn't know much about girl groups

When Chairman Bang Si-hyuk first recruited Min Hee-jin, he said that he was a saint and told her to build Min Hee-jin's world. Since he did not know much about girl groups, he used Big Hit's infrastructure and Min Hee-jin's creativity. Kakao Talk was released, saying that it is possible to dominate the fandom market only by proceeding.

Chairman Bang Si-hyuk says, “You can step on Espa, right?”

In the middle of the KakaoTalk content, Bang Si-hyuk said to Min Hee-jin, “You can step on the Espa, right?”

There is an opinion that if Min Hee-jin's KakaoTalk content is evidence of ADOR's usurpation, Bang Si-hyuk's KakaoTalk content is evidence of instigating the Espa assault.

“Haha, are you having fun? Why are you laughing? Haha, I'm really curious. Ah, are you having fun?" said Chairman Bang Si-hyuk.

After a specific incident (explained separately) that worsened the relationship with Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, when NewJeans entered the Billboard Hot 100, Bang Si-hyuk reportedly sent the above KakaoTalk message to Min Hee-jin.

Min Hee-jin said that Bang Si-hyuk's words sounded strange, saying that of course it would be fun to see NewJeans on the Billboard Hot 100.

Hybe's check and obstruction

“And since when can we actively promote ourselves? Min Hee-jin said, “The reason I separated my label was because I broke my promise and said I would release Sakura first.”

According to the conversation with hybe CEO Park Ji-won, hybe broke its initial promise to Min Hee-jin and unilaterally informed Min Hee-jin that it would debut LE SSERAFIM, to which Sakura belongs, first.
So, it is said that in the process of protesting, the relationship with Bang Si-hyuk also deteriorated.

Additionally, hybe is said to have prevented Min Hee-jin from promoting NewJeans or disclosing information related to NewJeans in order to create the illusion in the public that the girl group Min Hee-jin is creating is LE SSERAFIM.

Min Hee-jin says, “Who are all rookies?”

Min Hee-jin has appeared on a broadcast called You Quiz and is asking Park Ji-won if it is okay to tell her that the girl group she is making (NewJeans) is all rookies.
Park Ji-won is saying it in a way that makes it difficult because if he says that, the public will know that he is not LE SSERAFIM.

Park Ji-won says, “Revenge is successful.”

Min Hee-jin is complaining that hybe is shameless in making such a request and that hybe is doing something that will expose hybe's weaknesses.
Park Ji-won then says, “Revenge is successful.”
It can be assumed that Park Ji-won also acknowledges to some extent that the demands that Hybe is making to Min Hee-jin are unjustified.

Min Hee-jin complains about hybe

They say that they even suspect that Hybe is not helping with the awards ceremony or promoting it properly, and is actually creating a reverse virus.

In summary, Min Hee-jin feels that hybe is only trying to use his image and has been keeping himself and NewJeans in check.

NewJeans Talk to Parents

Text conversations with NewJeans parents

This is a story about NewJeans' parents giving various advice to help Min Hee-jin.
Since malicious content directed at Min Hee-jin is being spread, they are asking him to go to a press conference and explain.

As mentioned earlier, it is said that NewJeans parents took the initiative to tell Min Hee-jin about the suspicion of ILLIT copying NewJeans.

It seems that Min Hee-jin wanted to explain that he was not using NewJeans members and parents for his own benefit and raising issues with Hybe.

NewJeans debut narrative, hybe’s first girl group

There was a media article saying that Min Hee-jin was talking about all the NewJeans members as if he had raised them, but in fact, he had selected 5 trainees from Source Music to form them.

Min Hee-jin refuted the contents of the article as follows:
Min Hee-jin joined hybe and decided to create a girl group, selecting Minji from among the Source Music trainees.
Since they couldn't find a trainee they liked other than Minji, Min Hee-jin, hybe, and Source Music held a Plus Global audition together and Hani was initially selected.
After that, Daniel, Hae-rin, and Hye-in were selected with the branding of “hybe’s first girl group.”

Min Hee-jin claimed that Source Music prevented Min Hee-jin and the NewJeans members from meeting each other even though the selected NewJeans members were practicing the songs and choreography selected by Min Hee-jin at Source Music. (In the end, the media's article that all NewJeans members were Source Music trainees from the beginning can be seen as a malicious distortion.)

Then one day, Min Hee-jin received a notification from hybe that it had been decided to debut LE SSERAFIM first and NewJeans to debut as Source Music's second girl group.
At first, Daniel, Hae-rin, and Hye-in strongly protested, saying that they applied because of Hybe's branding as the first girl group, but it is said that they were not accepted.

So, Min Hee-jin requested the establishment of a label called ADOR, and hybe reportedly said that he would not hand over the NewJeans members unless he owned 100% of hybe.
Min Hee-jin said that he accepted hybe's offer because he felt that NewJeans' debut would be delayed further during the fight for shares. (It is said that Min Hee-jin later received 20% of ADOR's shares as compensation for ADOR's performance by purchasing it at a low price.)

Also, when bringing the NewJeans members to ADOR, Source Music asked for ADOR's shares, so hybe paid Source Music 2 billion won as compensation, but Min Hee-jin said that he still does not understand why.

shaman

Through the media, hybe also took issue with Min Hee-jin discussing company matters with a shaman via KakaoTalk.
He asked the shaman when BTS would go to the military and discussed when to send BTS to the military.

Min Hee-jin said at the press conference that the shaman was an acquaintance he had known before, and questioned whether it was a crime for the shaman to be an acquaintance.
He explained that he had discussed it with his acquaintance because his frustrated feelings did not go away even though he was attending a psychiatrist.

I think it is difficult to take issue with discussing with a shaman about personal business decisions rather than determining national policy.
Also, it is difficult to see that deciding with a shaman when to send BTS to the military is not harming or harassing anyone, nor is it a morally problematic thought or action.

Min Hee-jin said that he is a shaman who manages magic, but “those people will go around to see magic more.”
He made a meaningful remark, “They are pushing me because they are doing it.”

After that, the community began to suggest a connection between hybe and Dahn yoga.
Hybe claims that BTS is a valuable asset and has filed lawsuits for using BTS images without permission. However, even though Dahn Yoga has consistently mentioned and promoted BTS, it has not filed a lawsuit or raised any issues to date.

ESG management, random photo card

Min Hee-jin criticized hybe's ESG management, saying there were also problems.
Hybe is talking about water-soluble paper, saying it is ESG management, but Min Hee-jin argued that paper is inherently water-soluble, and things like random photo cards are passing the burden on to fans and disrupting the music market.

Also, there is criticism that NewJeans is the same because they release 6 versions of an album and when you buy only 1 version, you have no choice but to buy it randomly. He said that if this is not done, there will be a problem with ranking each member.

If it is unclear whether you can collect all the random photo cards of other idols that Min Hee-jin took issue with, even if you spend millions of won, you can buy the 6-piece set version of the NewJeans album (about 100,000 won).
The recent dumping of a large amount of Seventeen (SVT) albums on the street in Japan can be seen as a representative example of Min Hee-jin's problem.

military soccer

When asked by a reporter what he thought the solution was if there was a problem with hybe, Min Hee-jin argued that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk should step aside.
When the top decision-maker, the chairman, is in charge of producing for a specific label, there are people around him who want to look good, so it has a negative impact on the entire label.
Just like when you play soccer in the military, the ball is only given to high-ranking people.

Additional news after the press conference

Comments from NewJeans parents

On March 31, 2024, a written opinion submitted by NewJeans parents to ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin was made public, stating that they suspected that Belif Lab was copying NewJeans and that hybe was keeping NewJeans in check.

NewJeans parents said they heard from NewJeans members that whenever they encountered Chairman Bang Si-hyuk in the company, they greeted him, but Chairman Bang Si-hyuk pretended not to notice and turned away.
At first, he thought he didn't recognize him, but he said it happened several times on different days and in different places, even when the two of them met alone.

It is also said that before their debut, NewJeans members tried to give up their debut after being kept on waiting and neglected indefinitely by Source Music.

Some scenes from the You Quiz broadcast featuring NewJeans

NewJeans Minji once said on a You Quiz broadcast that she had been practicing attention for two years when she was a trainee.
It is presumed that the period of indefinite waiting and neglect of the members mentioned by NewJeans parents is the two-year period mentioned by Minji.

holidays

It is said that on the day of CEO Min Hee-jin's press conference (April 25th), NewJeans parents visited hybe and had a conversation with hybe in order to mediate between hybe and CEO Min Hee-jin.

Hybe said that after Min Hee-jin was dismissed, they were planning to give NewJeans members a long vacation after the Tokyo Dome fan meeting.
He also said, ‘It takes about a year and a half to recruit a Grammy (award-winning) producer, and we are trying to get it done as quickly as possible.’ Parents were said to be concerned about whether the long vacation meant a year and a half.

Hybe officials are said to have advised NewJeans parents not to tell their children about Min Hee-jin's management as a shaman because it is a sensitive and cautious matter.
However, it is said that it was very absurd that within an hour of Hybe coming out, articles related to shamans were pouring in.

When NewJeans parents asked why Chairman Bang Si-hyuk did not receive greetings from NewJeans members, hybe officials reportedly explained that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has facial recognition impairment.
NewJeans parents said they thought that even if they couldn't recognize someone because they had a facial recognition problem, if they said hello, they would usually be greeted.

FiftyFifty

On the 27th, hybe spread the news through the media that Min Hee-jin was blocking the way and was having trouble communicating with NewJeans parents.

However, as mentioned earlier, on the day of Min Hee-jin's press conference (the 25th), NewJeans parents reportedly visited Hybe for mediation.

There is an opinion that it is doubtful whether Hybe's unposting was intended to remind people of the FiftyFifty incident.

According to Min Hee-jin's plan

There are opinions that Min Hee-jin's conversation on KakaoTalk about his plan to take over ADOR may be coming true.
This is because among the contents of the conversation, there are contents such as 'preparation for public opinion in May' and 'we will make ADOR an empty shell and take it out.'

However, since the NewJeans Tokyo Dome fan meeting is in June and they have announced that they are planning a world tour afterwards, it does not seem very likely that they followed through on the KakaoTalk conversation.
Above all, it was hybe who started the situation first, and it was hybe who escalated the situation through extensive media play.

pushing out, hoarding

It is presumed that Min Hee-jin's whistle-blowing was a recommendation to push out Hybe's albums and to hoard albums.
Min Hee-jin is said to have received an invitation from hybe to push 100,000 copies of the album around the time of the release of his 2'EP Get Up' album, but he declined.

hybe explained that Min Hee-jin's recommendation was only part of an informal conversation.

Claiming that Min Hee-jin's personal KakaoTalk conversation is evidence of ADOR's usurpation, hybe's explanation that the recommendation was an informal conversation seems unconvincing.

Naver, Dunamu

hybe claimed that Min Hee-jin met with Naver and Dunamu and proposed the acquisition of ADOR.

Min Hee-jin explained that it was a private event unrelated to investment and that he only met officials from Naver and Dunamu at a dinner with an acquaintance.
Min Hee-jin said that if necessary, he would request a four-way meeting with hybe, two trees, and Naver.

Dunamu is a partner company with Hybe that holds stock in each other.
It is not common sense that Min Hee-jin proposes extortion of ADOR to hybe's partners.
And maybe it's because I don't know much, but I don't know why the takeover offer, rather than extortion, is a problem in the first place.

30x put option required

hybe announced through the media that Min Hee-jin requested a multiple of 30 regarding the put option.
It is said that Min Hee-jin was excessively greedy financially and caused problems because of his greed.

Min Hee-jin explained that the 30 multiple reflected the future production value of the boy group and was only one of the proposals made in the process of changing the contract between shareholders.

gryeo