Notes of protest: why the Korean music industry is on the brink of disaster
The major drama of the Korean music industry in 2024 - the conflict within HYBE, the media giant that owns BTS and controls 50% of the country's pop music market - is coming to a close. The former CEO of subsidiary ADOR Min Heejin, who unleashed a feud over corporate governance issues, has announced that she is leaving both HYBE and its subsidiary. Litigation is ahead, with the first one scheduled for January 2025. The future of HYBE's rising stars is also under attack - the popular women's group NewJeans, founded by Min Hijin, has already threatened to have its contract terminated. The public showdown has also tarnished HYBE's own reputation. An internal document in which the corporation's management criticized the creativity and appearance of artists from rival labels was leaked to the Web. In Korea, they believe that HYBE, which glorified key-pop all over the world, is now openly destroying it. "Izvestia" found out how the scandal will affect the main export product of South Korea.
What is HYBE
Now it is one of the four largest entertainment corporations in the country. The conglomerate controls a little more than half of the pop music market in South Korea. The corporation is home to internationally popular groups including BTS, Tomorrow x Together, Seventeen, Enhypen and NewJeans.
Seventeen
HYBE grew out of a small record company, BigHit Entertainment, founded by producer Ban Shi Hyeok in 2005. What made him a giant in the K-pop industry, however, was the worldwide success of boy band BTS. In 2020, they became the first Korean group to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their track Dynamite. Around the same time, BigHit acquired the Source Music and PLEDIS Entertainment labels, which was the beginning of the umbrella management system in the future corporation. In 2021, BigHit Entertainment changed its name to HYBE and opened divisions in Japan and the United States. The corporation now includes six labels. In addition to BigHit Music, Source Music and PLEDIS Entertainment, they are KOZ Entertainment, Belift Lab and ADOR. The latter two were the instigators of the conflict that triggered the Korean authorities' investigation of HYBE.
The CEO of the subsidiary label was accused of trying to take over the company
At the end of April 2024, HYBE announced the start of inspections at ADOR. The corporation's management has accused the CEO of its subsidiary Min Hee Jin of attempting to seize power and intending to enforce the label's independence. ADOR owns the rights to female group NewJeans. The group debuted in 2022 with songs Hype Boy and Attention instantly topped the global charts and is considered one of the most profitable groups. In response, Min Hee Jin accused HYBE's management of plagiarism, pointing out the similarities between her group and ILLIT from the Belift Lab label. The conflict went public and at one point even led to the collapse of HYBE's stock. We wrote more about the beginning of corporate disputes here.
CEO of ADOR agency NewJeans Women's Group Min Hee Jin
Min Hee Jin was removed as CEO of ADOR, but retained her position as the company's internal director and control over NewJeans. As Min Hee Jin's representatives stated, the decision was made unilaterally without her consent.
Belift Lab later filed a criminal complaint against Min Hee Jin for alleged business interference and defamation. According to the label, the ILLIT members at the center of the scandal "suffer from serious malicious comments, ridicule and personal attacks." By the way, the youngest girl Iroha is only 16 years old. On Friday, Nov. 22, already after resigning from her position as ADOR chief, Min Heejin filed a countersuit against Belift Lab CEO Kim Dae-ho. She demanded 5 billion won (about $3.6 million) from her opponent for defaming her. Trial sessions for both claims will begin in January 2025.
NewJeans has declared war on HYBE
More than anything else, the conflict is affecting the NewJeans girls themselves, who support their leader. In September, the group held a surprise live broadcast on YouTube, which was soon removed from there. The female members of the group appealed to the HYBE management and Ban Shi Hyeok personally, demanding that their mentor be reinstated as CEO by September 25, as this is the only way to peacefully resolve the issue. ADOR 's new management rejected NewJeans' request, and netizens - South Korean active Internet users - harshly criticized Min Hee Jin for trying to regain power in such a way.
Korean K-Pop group NewJeans.
Much more attention was drawn to NewsJeans member Hanni's admission during that 30-minute broadcast of discrimination by other artists and corporate managers. "The HYBE building has a shared barbershop and dressing room. I was sitting alone in the hallway when other team members and their manager walked by. We greeted each other, but when they came back, the manager told them to ignore me. And said that so I would hear everything," the girl shared. She also added that ADOR's new CEO Kim Ju Young did not respond to her bullying complaint in any way.
Hanni's story has become one of the centerpieces of the Korean government's investigation into workplace bullying. The girl was asked to testify against HYBE at an audit session of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Protection Committee. During her testimony, Hanni also mentioned instances of the corporation criticizing NewJeans members in internal chats. "The negative atmosphere at HYBE was not just a feeling - it was a reality," the Korea Times quoted the girl as saying.
Broadcasting NewJeans member Hanni
ADOR's new CEO promised that the company would "listen to the voice of its artist" and conduct its own audit. However, Hanni's story has also interested the South Korean Ministry of Labor and Employment. The agency is investigating allegations of bullying at HYBE.
HYBE's controversial internal report and sales manipulation
HYBE came under fire when, at a meeting of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee in late October, Min Hyun Bae, a representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, released the corporation's internal document, "Music Industry Weekly Report on Industry Trends," which was harshly critical of the aydols and groups from various agencies, including unflattering comments about their appearance. An even greater outcry occurred when the report partially ended up on the Internet. For example, in the document, HYBE criticized aespa, NewJeans' main competitors, for their poor singing, and called the female singers from IVE "ugly".
An excerpt of the Music Industry Weekly Industry Trends Report
- Such evaluations and derogatory language are aimed at minors, showing an inhumane view of ayedols," the Korea Times quoted lawmaker Min Hyun Bae as saying, noting that HYBE's behavior violates the Culture Ministry's laws and guidelines for protecting the rights of children and teenagers in the entertainment industry.
Reaction followed not only from fans of the artists offended in the report, but also from musicians of the label itself. Seventeen band member Seungwang condemned the managers of his own corporation on social media and called for the protection of the Aydols from violent attacks and pressure. "You have no right to invade our history like this. It's not just about us but other artists, we are not your stuff. I hope you don't think you can use us any way you want," he wrote.
Democrats also accused HYBE of using questionable techniques to inflate album sales figures. A party spokesperson provided evidence that the corporation artificially increased its artists' album sales by 70,000 to 200,000 additional units in the first week for promotional purposes.
Korean media outlets one after another ran scathing articles against the corporation that made Key Pop famous around the world and published new pages of an internal document sabotaging other artists. The corporation's CEO Lee Jae-sang announced the suspension of the music industry's weekly reports and promised to strengthen internal controls to prevent similar problems from recurring.
What will happen
HYBE's actions are of concern at the highest levels. According to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon, HYBE is not just a domestic company, but an international organization with huge influence that should avoid such situations.
According to Noh Jong-eun's lawyer, HYBE's report could give rise to numerous lawsuits because of South Korea's strict defamation laws.
On Nov. 20, Min Hee Jin announced her resignation as ADOR's internal director after eight months of strife, leaving HYBE. The corporation had achieved what it wanted, but in the process had done irreparable damage to its image and lost the trust of many fans. Against this troubling backdrop, news broke that the BTS members' return to the stage after their military service had been postponed from 2025 to 2026.
Tourists take pictures in front of the BTS signboard
HYBE itself is likely to undergo a number of personnel changes in the near future. Most likely, the outdated kei-pop principles will start to disappear. In any case, the events around HYBE are enough for the plot of a procedural dorama. It is not excluded that Netflix is already working on the script.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
