News Hybe/MHJ Civil War Megathread (5 Viewers)

[RandAlThor]

HYBE denies allegations of downplaying NewJeans’ achievements

Hybe
strongly denies allegations of downplaying NewJeans’ success.

Entertainment agency HYBE has strongly refuted accusations that it attempted to downplay the achievements of NewJeans.

On September 25th KST, during a broadcast of CBS’s "Kim Hyun Jung’s News Show," a Seoul Newspaper reporter revealed that they had received a request from a HYBE representative to revise an article about NewJeans’ Tokyo Dome concert.

The reporter claimed, “They made an illogical suggestion to distort and downplay the artist’s achievements.”

In response, HYBE explained, “The reporter wrote that over 1.02 million albums were sold ‘in Japan alone.’ However, at the time, only around 50,000 were sold in Japan, and over 900,000 were sold in Korea. We requested a correction because it was incorrect information.”

HYBE further emphasized, “There’s absolutely no reason for us to speak negatively about NewJeans’ achievements.”

Regarding the reporter’s claim that terms like “gaslighting” were used, HYBE clarified, “In the entertainment industry, when creators and artists form strong bonds, there can be attempts to seize control of management regardless of shareholding ratios. This is where the term was used during the explanation.”

HYBE also expressed its disapproval over the leak of a work-related conversation between the PR team and the reporter, sending a certified letter of protest to the media outlet. HYBE stated, “This is a serious violation of journalistic ethics.”

Source: https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/09/hybe-denies-allegations-of-downplaying-newjeans-achievements

one of the kids just got a big time solo brand deal Ador/Hybe are not sitting on their hands.

 

[Selfmate]

one of the kids just got a big time solo brand deal Ador/Hybe are not sitting on their hands.

they all have lots of solo activities

 

[Selfmate]

Statement from BELIFT LAB surrounding the NewJeans members & parents' claims that ILLIT and their manager ignored Hanni

Hello. This is Belift Lab.
We would like to express Belift Lab's position regarding the daily sports article published on October 7th.

We strongly demand that you immediately stop trying to smear new artists with outrageous plagiarism allegations followed by baseless personnel controversies.

The member in charge of protocol (manager) of ILLIT has never made a remark about a NewJeans member that he or she "ignores". The members of ILLIT have never passed by without saying hello to the members of NewJeans.

This fact was confirmed on June 13, when the parents of the NewJeans members raised the issue, through CCTV checks and investigations of protocol members and artists conducted at the request of Belift Lab. The only time the two groups encountered each other was on May 27, when they stayed in the same space in the HYBE building for about five minutes, and the video showed the members of ILLIT getting off the elevator and bowing 90 degrees to NEWJEANS member Hani, who was standing in front of them.

When we checked the video with Min Hee-jin on August 14, Min said that it was after this scene that he didn't say hello and that there must be another video. However, the security company explained that this was after the 30-day retention period of the footage, so it was not possible to obtain additional footage. Min's representative claims that HYBE intentionally deleted the video.

Our protocol members use honorifics and honorifics for artists, so saying "ignore me" is not in line with objective facts. It is claimed that "the video of the telling to ignore it has been deleted", but this is also untenable as the audio is not recorded on CCTV.

Since the issue was first raised, we have always asked for polite behavior among label artists, so we have investigated it sincerely. However, even though all the explanations requested have been provided, new allegations have been made that cannot be verified, and as a result, what never happened is being covered by the National Assembly's audit of the National Assembly, and we suspect that there are other intentions.

We have refrained from commenting on the issue in order to protect our workforce, which is inevitably in a weaker position than well-known artists. However, as attempts continue to solidify untrue stories as facts, the ILLIT members in question are complaining of extreme resentment and mental anguish. It is the powerless protocol members who are being harassed by dragging personnel issues, which are the domain of goodwill between other labels, into the public arena and constantly making false claims.

Following the filing of this complaint, we have already sent two official responses and positions on the matter in August and September. Following the request to prevent the recurrence of this issue, a member of NewJeans mentioned the issue in a live show, and after the incident became public, we demanded an apology from the member and the Adore label, but we did not receive a response to this. If this issue continues to defame and impede the reputation of the company, our artists, and our members, we will take all possible measures.

June 13 - Shortly after receiving the letter from NewJeans, Belift Lab conducted a face-to-face survey of the artists and members and confirmed that the allegations were unfounded.

In order to confirm the facts more clearly, we preemptively requested HYBE to check the CCTV, and since there was no clear date in the complaint, we reviewed the footage from all the dates (May 14th ~ June 13th) that could be checked by CCTV, based on the artist's movement in the HYBE headquarters.

During this period, we confirmed that there was only one encounter between Eyelit and the members of NewJeans on May 27th, and when they met each other while entering the styling room from the elevator hall, they saw the members of ILLIT bowing 90 degrees to the members of NewJeans.

June 19 - Based on the findings of the Position Sharing

Committee, a member of Belift Lab informed NewJeans in a face-to-face meeting with the new board of directors and NewJeans parents that they had not done or said anything as alleged by NewJeans members.

August 14 - In response to NewJeans' repeated complaints even after the CCTV review was carried out in the presence of officials, Adore and Belift Lab sought the consent of the artists of both companies and met together to confirm the situation on May 27, when the members of both teams encountered.

After checking the footage from May 27, Adore raised a new issue about the problematic situation after the scene, and both parties contacted the security company, but were told that it was impossible to check the footage from that date again as the CCTV archive had already expired.

Source:

Original Source: https://m.entertain.naver.com/now/article/410/0001027662

 

[RandAlThor]

Statement from BELIFT LAB surrounding the NewJeans members & parents' claims that ILLIT and their manager ignored Hanni

Hello. This is Belift Lab.
We would like to express Belift Lab's position regarding the daily sports article published on October 7th.

We strongly demand that you immediately stop trying to smear new artists with outrageous plagiarism allegations followed by baseless personnel controversies.

The member in charge of protocol (manager) of ILLIT has never made a remark about a NewJeans member that he or she "ignores". The members of ILLIT have never passed by without saying hello to the members of NewJeans.

This fact was confirmed on June 13, when the parents of the NewJeans members raised the issue, through CCTV checks and investigations of protocol members and artists conducted at the request of Belift Lab. The only time the two groups encountered each other was on May 27, when they stayed in the same space in the HYBE building for about five minutes, and the video showed the members of ILLIT getting off the elevator and bowing 90 degrees to NEWJEANS member Hani, who was standing in front of them.

When we checked the video with Min Hee-jin on August 14, Min said that it was after this scene that he didn't say hello and that there must be another video. However, the security company explained that this was after the 30-day retention period of the footage, so it was not possible to obtain additional footage. Min's representative claims that HYBE intentionally deleted the video.

Our protocol members use honorifics and honorifics for artists, so saying "ignore me" is not in line with objective facts. It is claimed that "the video of the telling to ignore it has been deleted", but this is also untenable as the audio is not recorded on CCTV.

Since the issue was first raised, we have always asked for polite behavior among label artists, so we have investigated it sincerely. However, even though all the explanations requested have been provided, new allegations have been made that cannot be verified, and as a result, what never happened is being covered by the National Assembly's audit of the National Assembly, and we suspect that there are other intentions.

We have refrained from commenting on the issue in order to protect our workforce, which is inevitably in a weaker position than well-known artists. However, as attempts continue to solidify untrue stories as facts, the ILLIT members in question are complaining of extreme resentment and mental anguish. It is the powerless protocol members who are being harassed by dragging personnel issues, which are the domain of goodwill between other labels, into the public arena and constantly making false claims.

Following the filing of this complaint, we have already sent two official responses and positions on the matter in August and September. Following the request to prevent the recurrence of this issue, a member of NewJeans mentioned the issue in a live show, and after the incident became public, we demanded an apology from the member and the Adore label, but we did not receive a response to this. If this issue continues to defame and impede the reputation of the company, our artists, and our members, we will take all possible measures.

June 13 - Shortly after receiving the letter from NewJeans, Belift Lab conducted a face-to-face survey of the artists and members and confirmed that the allegations were unfounded.

In order to confirm the facts more clearly, we preemptively requested HYBE to check the CCTV, and since there was no clear date in the complaint, we reviewed the footage from all the dates (May 14th ~ June 13th) that could be checked by CCTV, based on the artist's movement in the HYBE headquarters.

During this period, we confirmed that there was only one encounter between Eyelit and the members of NewJeans on May 27th, and when they met each other while entering the styling room from the elevator hall, they saw the members of ILLIT bowing 90 degrees to the members of NewJeans.

June 19 - Based on the findings of the Position Sharing

Committee, a member of Belift Lab informed NewJeans in a face-to-face meeting with the new board of directors and NewJeans parents that they had not done or said anything as alleged by NewJeans members.

August 14 - In response to NewJeans' repeated complaints even after the CCTV review was carried out in the presence of officials, Adore and Belift Lab sought the consent of the artists of both companies and met together to confirm the situation on May 27, when the members of both teams encountered.

After checking the footage from May 27, Adore raised a new issue about the problematic situation after the scene, and both parties contacted the security company, but were told that it was impossible to check the footage from that date again as the CCTV archive had already expired.

Source:

Original Source: https://m.entertain.naver.com/now/article/410/0001027662

this is so silly most ccc stuff is kept for 30 days or so back in the day we had to change teh video every day and over write.


there was something else from mjh last week i forget what it was lol

 

[Selfmate]

this is so silly most ccc stuff is kept for 30 days or so back in the day we had to change teh video every day and over write.


there was something else from mjh last week i forget what it was lol

there's no shortage of silliness in this entire thing but whereas previously the "civil war" was mainly between hybe (parent) and ador (child)
now it's taken another turn as it's now group vs group (to a certain extent)

 

[catonkatonk]

I will not be satisfied until Bang enters his Burn Book into discovery.

 

[RandAlThor]

I Really really do not understand how MJH can be the good guy in the video(ignore her deal) she was still fully in charge during that time yet she did not act on what ever the girls names interest for months.

 

[Abeamus]

I Really really do not understand how MJH can be the good guy in the video(ignore her deal) she was still fully in charge during that time yet she did not act on what ever the girls names interest for months.

This seems like a strong case of perception being reality as MHJ was successfully able to angle this as the big evil company ruining an artist and group who just want to be able to work in peace and it worked because Hybe slow dug themselves into a PR hole with being shady about things like Gfriend and Nu'est disbandments then how quickly they 180'd on Garam that MHJ turned into a grave for them.

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

To me, it's interesting tat some see MHJ as problematic at ADOR/HYBE/BH but when she was in SME - she had little authority to exert influence as such over trainees/rookies. Ofc her critics harp on her impropriety then. But she was given full rein AFTER she was out of SME n fully immersed in BH/HYBE practices. She learnt from the best-embezzlement financial improprities from LSM and shenanigans from BSH to propel an underdog story.

I can't completely see her as a villain when US/western music conglomerates exploit/disregard creatives' copyrights by subsuming music publishing companies eg Taylor Swift n going back to Paul McCartney. MHJ vs HYBE to takeover ADOR seems trivial normalised/inadequate safeguards on HYBE's part. If a US/western company gave away so much as 20% shares/so much leeway to a unproven producer (who didn't found the label/find own investors independently) it would be amazing(unless I'm mistaken). I dint follow newjeans before 22 April 2024. But hasn't the investment been paid back so far? If a producer gave such results in the western music world there would be either rewards or outright negotiations/infighting to share more of the profits. I rmbr Atomic Kitten, Bananarama n Sugababes imploding combusting due to squabbles, not due to producers/label heads but kpop doesnt hv artist priority unless it'd gdragon/soyeon n maybe a few others. Mores the pity.

 

[Selfmate]

HYBE security guard confesses the video of Hanni greeting ILLIT and then being ignored was deleted

The mothers of the NewJeans members addressed inaccuracies in Belift Lab’s statement regarding an incident where a manager of another artist allegedly told the artist to "ignore" Hanni. They emphasized the core issue that needed to be clarified. They stated, "We asked Belift Lab to release a corrected statement because the facts in their initial statement were very different from the truth, but they refused, so we had no choice but to reach out to you again."

In another interview with Ilgan Sports on the evening of October 8, the mothers stated, "Belift Lab issued a statement on the 7th, but it contained too many factual errors. We all asked ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young to address this issue personally, as the leader of ADOR. However, CEO Kim said, 'Even if we release a statement based on the information provided by the parents and Hanni, there’s a high chance of further rebuttals, which could lead to an endless cycle of back-and-forth,' and refused to issue a statement."

One of the mothers, A, stated, "We have no proper channel to correct these falsehoods, and it’s the agency’s responsibility to do so. Since they refused, we had no choice but to contact Ilgan Sports again."

In their previous interview on October 7 with Ilgan Sports, the NewJeans members' mothers claimed that while CCTV footage exists of Hanni greeting the other artist, the part showing the alleged "ignore" comment had been deleted. They accused both ADOR's current leadership and HYBE of failing to take adequate measures to resolve this issue.

In response, Belift Lab strongly refuted the claims of workplace mistreatment of NewJeans' Hanni. The label claimed, "The protocol team member (manager) of ILLIT never remarked 'ignore her' about any NewJeans member, and the ILLIT members have never passed by the NewJeans members without greeting them. These facts were confirmed through a review of CCTV footage and an investigation of the protocol team members and artists, conducted at the request of Belift Lab on June 13, following the concerns raised by NewJeans' parents."

However, NewJeans' mothers continue to suspect Belift Lab had intentionally deleted the surveillance footage to cover up the incident. One mother stated, "From the beginning, we were told that only the person involved could check the CCTV, so Hanni and one manager went to view the footage. Why are they now claiming that ‘Min Hee Jin’s side’ saw it and changed their stance? Only Hanni and one manager saw the footage. But BeliftLab is now saying that Min Hee Jin’s side saw it and changed their argument. It’s terrifying how they keep changing their story and making things up. This is why we are suspicious that HYBE or Belift Lab deleted the CCTV footage to cover up the facts.”

Another mother pointed out, "The security guard said that the video of Hanni greeting and then being ignored was deleted because they thought the greeting was enough and didn’t need to be preserved."

She continued to criticize HYBE and stated, "BeliftLab referred to the place that checked and deleted the CCTV as a ‘security company,’ making it seem like it was an external company. However, the decision to review and delete the footage is clearly an issue within HYBE’s own organization. This attempt to distort even small details is not the right approach.”

NewJeans' mothers emphasized that they are not raising issues with the "greeting incident" but pointing out the unfair treatment HYBE is inflicting on NewJeans.

Korean netizens were also questioning why HYBE had decided to delete the footage of the incident. They commented:

"Was it simply that they didn’t greet as they passed by, or was there a movement caught where they tried to greet but were stopped by the manager? That’s why the CCTV shouldn’t have been deleted. So why did HYBE delete it? Are they feeling guilty about something?"

"So who was the manager who said 'ignore her'?"

"It is suspicious that the footage was deleted. Especially just that part?"

"So the question is, why did they delete just that part?"

"HYBE is so low."
"There's definitely something suspicious in the latter part of the video that's why they deleted it."

"The part that's the issue is when the manager said 'ignore her' not the greeting part. Hanni said they greeted each other but the manager told them to 'ignore her.' That's why they deleted the video after the greeting part."

"Hanni fighting."

"They tampered with evidence."

"The issue was not the greeting part. It was the part where the manager said 'Ignore her.' But that was the part of the video that got deleted."

"This is such a crazy company."

Source: https://www.allkpop.com/article/202...ting-illit-and-then-being-ignored-was-deleted

 

[Selfmate]

NewJeans fans report CEO Kim Joo Young and VP Lee Do Kyung to the police for suspected mistreatment in the workplace

On October 10 KST, a lawyer representing the official fan club of NewJeans, Bunnies, appeared at Seoul Yongsan Police Station to file reports against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young and other high-ranking officials.

Simultaneously on this day, Bunnies officially announced its intention to report CEO Kim Joo Young and vice president Lee Do Kyung of ADOR for professional malpractice and interference of business. Park Tae Hee, Chief Communication Officer at HYBE Labels, and Jo Sung Hoon, chief PR manager, will additionally be reported for violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, violation of laws on communication network use and the protection of information, violation of the Improper Solicitation Act, and violation of laws preventing the acceptance of bribery.

In other news, on October 15 KST, NewJeans member Hanni is scheduled to attend a parliamentary audit launched by the Environment and Labor Committee (ELC) over suspected workplace harassment by Kim Joo Young and others.

Source: https://www.allkpop.com/article/202...e-for-suspected-mistreatment-in-the-workplace

 

[catonkatonk]

Be serious.

 

[Selfmate]

Be serious.

 

[mysteric]

this makes the coquette middle finger story all that more funny

 

[Selfmate]

Former Ador CEO gains ground in legal battle with Hybe, as whistleblower reveals plagiarism evidence

The ongoing legal conflict between Min Hee-jin, former CEO of Ador, and Hybe has taken another turn, as an internal whistleblower provided new evidence for the accusation that Illit, a rookie K-pop girl group under Belift Lab, plagiarized the concept of NewJeans. The evidence was revealed in a court hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on Friday. Belift Lab is a sister company of Ador, as both are subsidiaries of Hybe.

New evidence has surfaced concerning Illit’s alleged imitation of NewJeans, which is a key issue, as Min alleges her complaints concerning the topic led to Hybe launching an internal audit in March. The issue was also raised at a National Assembly audit on Monday.

According to Min’s legal team of Shin & Kim, an internal Hybe employee revealed that Illit’s creative director had requested NewJeans’ project plan during the early stages of planning for the launch of Illit. The whistleblower claimed that the two groups’ concepts were identical.

Min’s legal team presented text messages and phone call recordings, quoting the whistleblower as purportedly saying about the launch concept, “I never imagined they would make it exactly the same. ... They must have looked at all this, so why do they keep denying it? It made me feel very uncomfortable.”

Hybe has firmly denied the plagiarism accusations. Belift Lab has also denied the allegations and is pursuing legal action against Min for defamation.

Belift Lab previously conducted an internal investigation and asserted that the claims were baseless. In May, Belift Lab filed defamation and interference with business charges against Min.

At the heart of the dispute is Min’s claim that Hybe violated shareholder agreements by dismissing her from Ador’s board of directors, which forced her to step down from the top position despite a court injunction preventing such actions in May.

Last month, Min filed another injunction with the Seoul Central District Court seeking to convene an emergency shareholders meeting for Ador and to reinstate her as a board member.

During the hearing, Min's legal team pointed to a shareholders’ agreement, valid for five years from November 2021, which they claim Hybe violated by dismissing her. The recent injunction seeks to force Hybe’s directors to vote in favor of reinstating Min.

They also highlighted Ador’s rapid success under Min’s management, noting that the company achieved a staggering 110.2 billion won ($81.5 million) in revenue and 33.5 billion won in operating profit in 2023 -- doubling Hybe’s initial 16.1 billion won investment in just two years. They emphasized that no other entertainment company in the past 30 years has delivered such swift results.

Min’s side argued that the root of the conflict lies in the parent company’s betrayal, mistreatment and harassment. She further accused Hybe of engaging in a smear campaign, covering up workplace bullying targeting NewJeans’ Hanni and allowing Illit to plagiarize NewJeans’ concept.

Hybe, again, refuted Min’s allegations, accusing her of hiring outside experts and working with Ador’s deputy CEO, Lee Sang-woo, in a bid to establish Ador as an independent entity -- actions the parent company says undermined trust.

The dispute, which began in April, still shows no signs of resolution, as each side continues to accuse the other of betrayal.

Source: https://news.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20241011050615

 

[Selfmate]

HYBE Labels continues to assert that Min Hee Jin planned to 'gain independence' along with NewJeans

On October 11 KST, the 50th civil division of the Seoul Central District Court convened for a hearing to determine the validity of the injunction requested by former CEO Min Hee Jin of ADOR, who is claiming that HYBE's decision to dismiss her as CEO was a violation of her shareholder contract. First, Min Hee Jin's side spoke by presenting evidence that the BeLift Lab girl group ILLIT copied her own group, NewJeans.

Next, HYBE Labels also defended its case by justifying its decision to dismiss Min Hee Jin as CEO. As one reason, the company named the ADOR sexual harassment case, asserting, "Rather than making efforts to prevent similar incidents in the future, the creditor (Min Jee Jin) insisted that new regulations should be instated to punish false accusers. Furthermore, the creditor distributed official press statements related to their personal dispute with the sexual harassment victim, 'B', using the name ADOR. This inflicted damages on ADOR's image and made it appear as a company that tolerated sexual harassment in the workplace."

Furthermore, citing the example of the girl group FIFTY FIFTY, HYBE's side argued, "The creditor tarnished the debtor(HYBE)'s image using media play in an attempt to force the sale of ADOR stocks. The creditor drew up detailed plans, believing that it was possible to gain independence from HYBE. When an idol group finds success, there are cases where they wish to go independent with their producer. This current case happens to be one such a case. Ultimately, the creditor wishes to gain independence from HYBE along with NewJeans. The creditor is convinced that the success of NewJeans and the profits earned all belong to her."

Citing the above reasons, HYBE Labels claimed that Min Hee Jin's dismissal as CEO of ADOR through an executive board meeting held in August was "justified".

Source: https://www.allkpop.com/article/202...nned-to-gain-independence-along-with-newjeans

 

[RandAlThor]

This alone is reason to fire an executive.

Next, HYBE Labels also defended its case by justifying its decision to dismiss Min Hee Jin as CEO. As one reason, the company named the ADOR sexual harassment case, asserting, "Rather than making efforts to prevent similar incidents in the future, the creditor (Min Jee Jin) insisted that new regulations should be instated to punish false accusers. Furthermore, the creditor distributed official press statements related to their personal dispute with the sexual harassment victim, 'B', using the name ADOR. This inflicted damages on ADOR's image and made it appear as a company that tolerated sexual harassment in the workplace."

 

[mysteric]

so today we’ve got statements that idols aren’t included in the governance as employees so human rights regulations in the company don’t apply to them — also it never occurred to me that idols fall into technically the gig employee category instead of contracted workers — and that there was a coverup in an employee death two years ago bofa wishes they had that power
ngl I kind of feel bad for the new ceo because she’s so obviously meant to be the fall guy especially since she was in charge of hr throughout all this, glass cliff is real

 

[velvet]

we’ve got statements that idols aren’t included in the governance as employees so human rights regulations in the company don’t apply to them

That's a failure on everyone's part holy shit.

 

[mysteric]

That's a failure on everyone's part holy shit.

I kind of see how they would be classified as outsourced contractors but and that hr topics are all around awful for that demographic as a whole, but the idea that “they’re earning a lot we don’t have to give them employee benefits how dare they complain” about this case in particular is just.. no words to me
that this woman was director of hr throughout all these complaints too and so was probably handling all these cases, I know hr will never be on your side but this is next level