HYBE, Ador's endless blame game fatigues public
K-pop girl group NewJeans / Courtesy of Ador
The management rights dispute between K-pop powerhouse HYBE and its sub-label Ador continues to rage on, drawing extensive public and media attention. According to the Korea Press Foundation, the controversy featured in over 1,270 articles between April 22 and 30. Despite this intense scrutiny, signs of public fatigue are emerging as the conflict drags on without resolution.
The spat began when HYBE filed a police report against Ador's CEO Min Hee-jin for alleged breach of trust on April 25 and the two have since been exchanging barbs over diverse issues ranging from plagiarism to discrimination to embezzlement. Min is the producer of NewJeans, the only girl group represented by Ador.
In the latest development, a local media outlet disclosed on Monday an email that Min sent to HYBE on April 3, which includes messages from the parents of the five NewJeans members — Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Hyein and Danielle. Their parents claim that NewJeans has been mistreated by HYBE, with its chairman Bang Si-hyuk ignoring the members' greetings for no clear reason. They also expressed concerns over the alleged copying of NewJeans' concept by HYBE and demanded a response from the company.
HYBE immediately issued a statement denying the allegations, saying, "We already replied on April 16 that there was no plagiarism. It is also not true that our mistreatment prompted the ongoing situation. We feel very sorry that Min is engaging the artists and their families in a fight for her own greed."
HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk / Courtesy of HYBE
Public fatigue mounts
However, the ongoing blame game between HYBE and Ador is leaving K-pop fans and the public feeling increasingly exhausted. Both parties are vying to win the battle for public opinion, but now, people are urging them to halt their high-profile dispute and seek a resolution through the legal process instead.
"At first, my friends and I had a keen interest in their conflict, but we now have no idea what is going on," a K-pop fan in her 20s told The Korea Times. "They argue over different issues every day and that confuses me. Now, I cannot tell who is good and who is not."
Numerous internet users are voicing similar sentiments.
"Please stop your fight and just go to court," reads a comment on The Qoo, a popular online community in Korea.
According to Lee Gyu-tag, a professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea, HYBE and Ador's standoff is now being "consumed as gossip."
"Most people have limited access to accurate information," he pointed out. "To make it worse, a wave of irrelevant people, who lack knowledge of music, are joining the bandwagon to address this issue for their own benefits. Their focus is not on music, but on different topics they want to touch on such as gender and generational conflict."
But there is a reason why HYBE and Ador can't stop their squabble, he says.
"Both of them cannot stay mum as they have to prove the legitimacy of their actions," he explained. "Even if Min gets fired, HYBE should continue to operate and Min should keep her career going. So, HYBE still needs to show people that its decision to sack Min is justifiable and Min has to emphasize that she has been mistreated by the company (despite her talent and accomplishments.)"
At the moment, more people seem to side with Min, as evidenced by a recent survey of 1,030 people conducted by polling organization, Media Tomato. The company revealed last Wednesday that 33.6 percent of the respondents said they can relate more to Min's claims, while 24.6 percent supported HYBE.
"Min made an emotional appeal during a press conference on April 25, instead of resorting to logic or facts," Lee said. "From then on, both Min and HYBE have been taking emotional approaches to get people on their sides, making them forget about the essence of the problem."
Ador CEO Min Hee-jin / Courtesy of Ador
What's next?
Min is highly likely to be dismissed, once an extraordinary shareholders meeting takes place on May 31. HYBE, which owns 80 percent of Ador, is seeking to fire her in about two months.
Kang Jin-seok, a lawyer at ent lawoffice in Seoul / Courtesy of Kang Jin-seok
On May 7, she filed for an injunction against HYBE to restrict its actions during the meeting. If granted after a hearing on May 17, HYBE will be barred from terminating her employment immediately.
Although the court often does not grant such an injunction, Kang Jin-seok, a lawyer at ent lawoffice in Seoul, did not rule out the possibility that Min has "prepared a lot in advance."
"This is the first time that Min has taken legal action through her legal representative," he noted. "It seems she has prepared persuasive arguments and evidence ... But still, it may not be so easy to meet the requirements to block HYBE from exercising its rights, so she has to prove that there were 'special circumstances' that led her to file for an injunction."
He added, "Once Min gets fired, she can consider taking another legal measure to invalidate the shareholders' decision. But again, she must have a clear reason for doing that."