ADOR - HYBE Mega Thread - 3 || Summary on page 1

  • If this thread is tl;dr for you (which it is) ...


    Original news broken by soshixbang


    REMINDER


    I know its frustrating that others do not see things the way you do, but I'd like to remind everyone that this is not a battle and you are not soldiers. You are debating an issue on a forum board. Having different opinions should not bleed into threats or accusations of serious -isms. I think you know what those are, but if you need a refresher, here are the rules. On such a hot button issue, please try to think twice before posting and once again, remember that you are talking to people.


    Please especially refrain from attacking and generalizing either idols, users or an entire fandom because of your position on this issue. Address the arguments.

    MHJ 2 hour press conference:

    English transcript:

    LIVE UPDATES โ€” ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin press conference
    Welcome to our minute-by-minute coverage of the press conference held by Min Hee-jin, producer of girl group NewJeans and CEO of agency ADOR. The conferenceโ€ฆ
    koreajoongangdaily.joins.com


    English subbed:

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.


    Original full:

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    Complete timeline by ItsActuallyMe

    Current: May 20, 2024 11:13AM Pacific | Updated as details emerge

    ___

    Timeline of significant events based on media reports


    2023


    April 25 โ€“ Adorโ€™s board of directors is reorganized. Hybe personnel are replaced with MHJ loyalists such as Vice President Shin Dong-Hoon and Chief Creative Director Kim Ye-min.


    May 19 โ€“ MHJ and other Ador executives receive 20% of the shares in Ador from Hybe for long term retention and motivational reasons.


    End of 2023 โ€“ Hybe receives reports that MHJ is meeting with investors to seek independence with NewJeans. Hybe ignores it for now.


    December 9 - Hybe CEO Park Ji-won encourages MHJ to talk to "that analyst guy" for advice regarding the issues she has with her shareholder contract, and furthemore states "I won't stop you", and "make your own decisions". (Based on kakaochat transcipts shared by Ador on May 16)


    December 12 - Hybe CEO Park Ji-won and MHJ have anothe kakaochat conversation about her shareholder contract. MHJ confronts Park Ji-won with the fact that after reanalyzing hher current shareholder contract she realized it has speicfic clauses that could lead to a liftetime non-competitive ban for her. MHJ considers the answers Park Ji-won gives her as excuses as he tells her "I don't read all contracts." MHJ contends this was a major breakdown of trust between her and Park Ji-won. (Based on kakaochat transcipts shared by Ador on May 16)


    December 2023 - Breakdown of negotiations occurs between MHJ and Hybe regarding her shareholder agreement. Said to be the main root of the conflict. They disagree on the non-competition clause and the revision of the put-option on MHJ's Ador shares. It is believed if Hybe can prove their accusations against MHJ in court, then they could reacquire MHJ's Ador shares at a price well below market value.



    2024

    January 24 - Ador's VP Lee (who back then was still head of Hybe's IR team) has a meeting with investment firm N Capital to discuss Ador's IPO plan.


    February 2024 - โ€œMr A.โ€ who worked at Hybeโ€™s financial department (IR Team Leader) moves to Ador and becomes a close associated of MHJ and received a Vice President position.


    February 7 - Ador's VP Lee starts to review Ador's management leveraged buyout and IPO plan with external lawyers.


    February 16 - MHJ delivered a revised version of the shareholder agreement to Hybe requesting that she receive the right to take actions over contracts at Ador, including NewJeans' contract, by herself. Hybe rejects the proposal.


    Early 2024 โ€“ Hybe receives a tip that MHJ is planning to take over Ador in collaboration with a private equity fund. Hybe is said to have tried to quietly resolve the issue with MHJ but failed.


    March 6 - MHJ has a dinner with officials from Naver and Dunamu. According to MHJ this was just a private event unrelated to investment, but Hybe argues it was part of MHJ's plan to receive investment to move Ador/NewJeans out of Hybe.


    March 23 โ€“ Mr. A writes a report setting out plans for Adorโ€™s independence


    March 25 โ€“ Illit debuts


    March 26 - NewJeans announce comeback and future plans


    March 29 โ€“ Mr. A writes another report setting out plans for Adorโ€™s independence. Bang Si-Hyuk, Park Ji-won, and Scooter Braun reappointed as directors on Hybe's board.


    March 31 - NewJeans' parents send an email to MHJ covey their complaints about mistreatment of the group by Hybe. They ask MHJ to share the email with Hybe. In the email, the parents share their concern about the similarities between Illit and Newjeans that they view as intended imitations, aggrevated by the fact that Belift hired somebody whose previous working experience in the industry only includes newjeans. The parents convey that they and the members are suffering mentally and feel helpless seeing all the comparisons being made between the two groups. The parents also bring up the issue of chairman Bang Si-Hyuk ignoring the members when they encountered each other at the company, even failing to greet them. Lastly, they point at Hybe's supposed broken promises in the past to be their first girl group, which ended up being Le Sserafim instead. The parents describe the situation as a "nightmare" back then, with one member even contemplating giving up on debuting. They demand a response and corrective action from Hybe.


    End of March - Internal document written by Adoreโ€™s Vice President (Mr. A) are discovered which set out plans to prevent Hybe from touching Ador and ultimately escape completely. He also downloaded a large amount of confidential information.


    March/April - VP Lee holds meetings with investment firm A Finance to receive financial investment for Ador. During the same period, MHJ reportedly met with Dunamu, a major shareholder of Hybe, and officials from Naver, a partner of Hybe, and proposed the acquisition of Ador. Both companies reported this to Hybe without further discussion with MHJ.


    April 3 - Ador sends the email from NewJeans' parents to Hybe and Belift together with their own comments. Ador states that as the rights holder of NewJeans IP they are equally displead with the Illit rights infringment. They accuse Hybe of benchmarking NewJeans' success to the point that they relied on the similarities perceived by the media and the public to go viral. Ador considers it as the parent company's tyranny against its subsidiary.


    Ador's executives (CEO MHJ, VP Shin, VP Lee, director Yemin) according to Hybe further discuss the role of Hybe's stock in the conflict. VP Lee is quoted stating "if we go to trail, the stock price will go down, so minority shareholders will say things like they want to file a lawsuit..." and that Hybe will suffer as a lisited company if these types of people join her."


    April 4 - MHJ is said to have held a conversation in a chat room with Ador executives about using her put option in January 2025, intentionally lower Ador's value to turn it into an 'empty shell', and having investors ready to take over Hybe's shares in Ador.


    April 8 - VP Shin signs a contract to lease a new house


    April 15 - VP Shin sells all his 950 shares of Hybe stock for 203.87 million won.


    April 15/16 - Illit's song Magnetic debuts on Billboard's Hot100 chart.


    April 16 - Hybe sends a response to Ador regarding the internal complaint. MHJ resends the internal complaint made on April 3 around the same time to Hybe CEO Park Ji-Won, Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk, and Hybe Americaโ€™s CEO Scooter Braun with additional complaints. She requests to receive a statement by April 23st


    Full text of MHJ's 2nd email can be found here:


    0003350996_001_20240517151801288.jpgโ€œ๋ฐ€์–ด๋‚ด๊ธฐ ์ œ์•ˆโ€โ€ฆ๋ฏผํฌ์ง„, ํ•˜์ด๋ธŒ ๋ฐฉ๋งŒ ๊ฒฝ์˜์œค๋ฆฌ ๋‚ด๋ถ€๊ณ ๋ฐœ ํ–ˆ์—ˆ๋‹ค [์ „๋ฌธ]

    m.entertain.naver.com


    April 17 - A meeting between a foreign investor and Ador management is said to have been held on this day. An analyst from a foreign financial security firm would have organized the meeting with the investor who initially visited Korea for an investment meeting with Hybe (which he held after the meeting with Ador).


    April 18 - Ador's executives (CEO MHJ, VP Shin, VP Lee, director Yemin) according to Hybe once again discuss the role of Hybe's stock in the conflict. VP Lee is quoted stating "Fair Trade Commission -> Public Opinion -> Litigation", and "the way to avoid getting blood on your hands is the Fair Trade Commission -> Spill on reporters -> Stock price plummet -> Make minority shareholders file lawsuits."


    April 22 โ€“ Hybe sends a response to the 2nd email send by MHJ regarding the internal complaint at 10am. MHJ reads the response around 12am.


    Hybe starts an internal audit of Ador in the afternoon which shortly after is shared with the media. Hybe releases a statement accusing MHJ and Adorโ€™s executives of trying to break free from Hybe. Hybe also suspects Mr. A of transferring sensitive financial information such as artists contract details from Hybe to Ador and possible external actors. MHJ publishes a first response accusing Hybe of damaging the NewJeans brand through Illitโ€™s plargisim. Later MHJ releases another statement rejecting Hybeโ€™s accusation.


    Full text of Hybe's reponse can be found here:


    0005741925_001_20240517153601068.jpgํ•˜์ด๋ธŒ, ๋ฏผํฌ์ง„ ์ฃผ์žฅ ๋ฐ˜๋ฐ•โ€ฆ "์Œ๋ฐ˜ ๋ฐ€์–ด๋‚ด๊ธฐ ์•ˆ ํ•œ๋‹ค" [์ „๋ฌธ]

    m.entertain.naver.com


    April 23 โ€“ Hybe CEO Park Ji-Won sends out a company notice regarding the audit stressing that business will continue as usual. Mr. A described as Adorโ€™s VP comes forward saying that the plans to get Ador out of hybe were only his personal thoughts and have nothing to do with MHJ.


    April 24 - MHJ hands in the audit questionaire to Hybe but witholds from giving them her laptop and specific documents. Ador demands MHJ's answers are kept secret otherwise they'll take legal action


    MHJ also gives a short statement to KBS accusing Hybe of "discriminating between subsidaries for a long time, and that the core of the conflict is that artists have suffered damage"


    Hybe is said to have started an internal audit into its other subsidaries as well


    Protest truck send by anonymous NewJeans fans to the Hybe building, conveying that they support NewJeans under Hybe and demand MHJ to "no longer use NewJeans and their family", and to "stop slandering other artists"


    April 25 - The mothers of three NewJeans member hold a meeting with Hybe executives including CEO Park Ji-won. Park Ji-won shares with them what MHJ did wrong according to Hybe. The mothers stress however that all the parents want NewJeans with MHJ. The parents also bring up the issue of Bang Si-hyuk ignoring the members again. The executives response to them is that they misunderstoof because Bang Si-hyuk might have 'facial recognition impairment'. Hybe also tells them that they will give the newjeans members a long vacation after their Japanese fanmeet in June Additionally Hybe shares they are looking for a 'grammy winning producer' as replacement which would take about a 1 year and 6 months but they're trying to get one as quickly as possible. The mothers leave the meeting wondering if that means NewJeans vacation/hiatus will be that long.


    Hybe releases the results of the internal audit, officially accusing MHJ of leading the attempt to seize management rights of Ador


    Hybe releases parts of transcribed conversations MHJ has held with a Shaman who is a close friend of hers which include controversial discussions about BTS's military service and detailed advice on Ador's management


    MHJ holds a two hour long press conference to reveal her side of the story. She berates Hybe's accusations of seizing management rights as being groundless, and with the help of Kakao chats reveals the complicated history of her relationship with Hybe, specifically its CEO Park Ji-won and Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk. According to MHJ they have mistreated NewJeans by repeatedly privileging other groups such as Le Sserafim and Illit. She further details how the upset NewJeans members and their parents have offered their support and comfort to her


    Hybe releases a statement declaring MHJ's remarks aren't worthy of a response and stresses that it is focused on giving the NewJeans members the help and support they need | Hybe files a criminal complaint with the police against MHJ and Ador Vice President Shin Dong-Hoon


    April 26 - NewJeans releases a music video for their comeback song 'Bubblegum'


    Hybe responds to MHJ's press conference. Hybe reaffirms its accusations against MHJ, stressing their evidence shows there is clear intent to move Ador out of Hybe. Hybe also rejects MHJ's accusation that they mistreated NewJeans by highlighting they provided Ador with extensive funds from the beginning. Hybe also points out that they have released a great amount of press releases for NewJeans that matches or exceeds the amount other Hybe groups have received. Lastly Hybe accuses MHJ of using NewJeans as 'hostages' to blackmail the company.


    April 27 - Hybe is attempting to contact NewJeans parents but according to MHJ the parents are not willing to respond


    April 28 - MHJ replies that the meeting scheduled for the 30th won't take place. Hybe, in anticipation this, had applied to the court for permission to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 25th. The hearing to decide this will take place on April 30th @ 4:35PM KST.



    April 30 - An Ador shareholder meeting will be held at which Hybe is said to demand to resignation of MHJ. The meeting can only be held if Ador's board of directors attend, otherwise Hybe will have to hold the meeting in court which will take around two months to be organized.


    May 2 - Reports come out about MHJ's demand from February to receive the right to take actions over contracts at Ador including the exclusive contract of NewJeans by herself. Hybe suspects that this is in line with the transcripts they found of a plan to make Ador 'an empty shell'


    Ador releases a statement refuting the reports about MHJ's demand, saying the inentions behind the request were purely to safeguard Ador's independence and prevent a repeat of interferences that they believed happened during NewJeans debut process


    Ador releases another lenghty statement refuting several of the media reports that came out in the previous days. Ador reiterates that Hybe's audit is groundless and illegal and is further an infringement of privacy and human rights as Hybe revealed Kakao chats to the public on Aprill 22. Ador also refutes that MHJ was driven by financial desires, emphasizing that the reported 30x multiplier on the put option that MHJ demanded was not a priority but was based on the potential of debuting a boygroup. Ador concludes the statememt by stressing that Hybe's actions over the last week have damaged NewJeans brand and that Hybe should stop its public trail of MHJ and use common sense to allow Ador to focus on its own management


    Park Ji-won apologizes to Hybe's shareholders in an earning calls about the damage the events of the last week have caused.


    May 7 - MHJ files a provisional injunction to ban Hybe from using its voting rights to oust her during the general shareholder meeting. She states that Hybe firing her would violate her shareholder contract and hurt the corporate value of Ador and its artists.


    May 9 - Hybe audits Ador's styling team leader on suspicions of embezzlement and breach of trust.


    VP Lee withdraws his consent to provide further information and the use of it.


    May 10 - Ador board meeting is held. The board agrees to hold a general shareholder meeting on May 31


    The board also makes a statement that Hybe 'illegally' audited Ador's styling team leader for suspicions of embezzlement and breach of trust on May 9. Hybe believes the team leader received unreported payments for newjeans' activities from advertisement companies instead of received the payments for from Ador. Ador rejects this accusation as according to them there was no financial damage for Ador and that this type of contractual relationship is common in the industry. They also stress that it was already shared with Hybe's HR and ER department in February. They further accuse the auditor of abusing its authority by unreasonably pressuring and coercing the team leader at her home to hand over her company laptop and personal mobile phone


    Hybe rejects Ador's statement on the audit by stressing that the audit was conducted legally and with the consent and cooperation of the styling team leader. Hybe says that the team leader admitted to receiving 100s of millions of won worth of money and materials from an outsourcing company with the approval of MHJ for several years. According to Hybe this is a clear illegality as they payments should have been recognized as official company sales. Hybe also reveals a transcript of a Kakaotalk conversation between CEO Min Hee-jin (nickname *) and vice-presidents L and S on February 18, 2024. Hive side claimed that this โ€œconfirms that the team leaderโ€™s receipt of money was done with CEO Minโ€™s approval,โ€ and that โ€œAdore management conspired to use Hive as an excuse to solve the problem.โ€


    Lastly, Hybe contends that MHJ's reporting the internal audit of May 9 in a misrepresented manner to the public defames the company and that they will take civil and criminal action against her for it


    Hybe and Ador each release one more rebuttal that basically repeats their arguments.


    May 12 - A mother of one of the NewJeans members gives a phone call interview to a media outlet that will be published the next day


    May 13 - The email send by Ador to Hybe on March 31 conveying NewJeans parents' complaints about mistreatment of the group is made public. Hybe responds by declaring that the accusation of Bang Si-Hyuk ignoring NewJeans' members is a false, one-sided claim, and that the email in general is part of MHJ's scheme to seize management rights and pursue private interests.


    The phone call interview from a mother of one of the NewJeans members that was held on May 12 is published. Hybe responds to it by saying that the mentioned vacation during the meeting held on April 25 is not the supposed to be interpreted as the 1 year and 6 month period they would need to get a new producer on board. According to Hybe it should be interpreted as the intention to take special care of NewJeans to support them to become great artists. Hybe ends their statement by reiterating that MHJ is using NewJeans and their parents to inflame public sentiment for her own greed, and that they have sufficient evidence against MHJ that will be revealed in court.


    NewJeans choreographers express on their instagram accounts their anger about Illit's choreography plagirazing NewJeans' choreography


    May 14 - According to the investment banking industry Hybe plans to submit a petititon to the Financial Supervisory Service requiring an investigation into VP Shin and other Ador executives including MHJ on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, such as spreading false information that Illit plagiarized NewJeans in order to negatively affect the stock price, causing damage to investors through market manipulation. Hybe accuses VP Shin of insider trading as the VP all his 950 shares of Hybe stock for 203.87 million on April 15, which was the day before Ador sent a 2nd email to Hybe. Hybe reveals additional transcripts of Kakaochat conversations between Ador executives that would show VP Shin were actively engaging in insider trading.


    Ador releases a statement refuting Hybe's allegation about insider trading. Ador states that VP Shin sold its shares to pay a downpayment for a house he leased on April 8. Ador supplies VP Shin's contract for the leased house to prove that there was no intent of insider trading. Ador reiterates that Hybe is the one responsible for the whole conflict and the failure to revolve it internally, and that the kakaochat messages only should be seen as possible countermeasures if Hybe did not accept the internal complant about Illit's plagiarism issue. Ador accusess Hybe of cleverly editing provocative words without explaining the exact context which misleads public opinion.


    Hybe also requests the Financial Supervisory Service to investigate an analyst from a foreign security who is said to have organized the meeting between Ador and an investor on April 17. Hybe discovered kakaochat discussions between VP Lee and MHJ where the VP is quoted stating "As for the value of Adore, based on current standards, it is 1.4%. They reported things like 'If itโ€™s trillion won, they want to invest right away.'โ€ Hybe believes the analyst served as a de facto advisor who provided review opinions regarding the seize of Ador's management rights, proposed conditions for revising MHJ's shareholder contract with Hybe (including the put option), and arranged meetings with foreign investors to sell Ador shares. Hybe discovered that VP Lee relayed matters discussed by Ador management to the analyst, then received review opinions and reported them to MHJ. Hybe also is said to accuse the analyst of proposing specific action plans, including civil and criminal measures against Hybe and its labels, which resulted in business losses and loss of reputation for the company and its artists.


    NewJeans' parents hire lawyer Kang Jin-seok who specializes in entertainment disputes. He helps them file the petition of the newjeans members for the injunction (He'll later deny reports that he was hired to potentially help with newjeans' contract termination)


    May 16 - Ador releases a response to Hybe's request of an investigation into the role of an financial analyst in MHJ's plans to supposedly usurp management rights. Ador stresses that the analyst did provide any review opinions related to the seizure of management rigths, something that would be impossible without the consent of major shareholders. The meeting with an investor described by Hybe according to Ador was just a meeting of multiple listed/unlisted companies organized by the analyst to attract domestic K-culture investment. VP Lee did have lunch together with them before the Hybe investment meeting, but according to Ador it had nothing to do with the sale of Ador as it was just a general coversation about Ador's publicy announced 2023 financial performance. Ador further reveals that VP Lee and the analyst held a meeting with CEO Park Ji-won And Hybe IR Team leader k after the lunch meeting. Ador also shares that it was Park Ji-won who encouraged MHJ to get external advice on the issues she had with her shareholder contract as Ador did not have its own legal and fianncial organization to review it. MHJ therefore asked the analyst who was her long-time acquaintance to review the conctract based on publicly available information. Lastly, Ador states that it is clear that Hybe's first goal is to dismiss CEO MHJ and at the same time ruin her reputation, and that they will report Hybe's auditor to the audit committee.


    Hybe rebutes Ador's statement by expressing that such detailed conversations with investment industry workers cannot procced if it was just private talk over management rights. Hybe accuses MHJ of deceving the entire nation as she stated duribng the press conference on April 25 that she had never met any investors. Hybe contends MHJ's lies are being revealed one by one through evidence and fact, and the expect the wrongdoings to be clear to investigative agencies and courts. Lastly, Hybe urges MHJ to stop making her personal statements through the company Ador as the theft of management rights is an indicent caused by MHJ's personal greed, and has nothing to with Ador as a company.


    May 17 โ€“ Injunction hearing is held regarding MHJโ€™s request to ban Hybe from using its shareholders right during the general shareholder meeting on May 31. The court allows each side to deliver more information until May 24 and will make a decision before the shareholder meeting. The details of each sideโ€™s arguments are shared with the media. Additional information not disclosed in court by Hybe or MHJ is also shared with media.


    Summary of the arguments held in court + additional info shared with the media:



    MHJโ€™s arguments


    MHJโ€™s lawyers argue that the injunction is needed because MHJโ€™s dismissal will cause irreparable damage not only to herself but also to NewJeans, Ador, and Hybe. They emphasize that NewJeans success was โ€œnot only because of the efforts of the members, but also because of MHJโ€™s excellent production sense and deep connection with the members.โ€ The lawyers further state that MHJโ€™s shareholder contract with Hybe stipulates that she has to maintain her position as CEO of Ador for five years.


    MHJโ€™s lawyers reject that there was any attempt to change the governance structure of Ador or the usurp management rights.


    MHJโ€™s lawyers reiterate that Hybe broke their promises regarding NewJeans becoming Hybeโ€™s first girl groups, which Le Sserafim became instead. They also reaffirm that Bang Si-hyuk did not greet the NewJeans members, which is supported by messages sent by each member who state that it was true that they did not receive greetings from him.


    MHJโ€™s lawyers also point out that Hybe recently mentioned a โ€˜long vacationโ€™ for NewJeans in a meeting with their parents. According to the lawyers, the members and their parents cannot help but feel fear. They further state that NewJeans themselves say that they should work with MHJ, showing the important role of MHJ, which is also acknowledged by NewJeans fans.


    MHJโ€™s lawyers state that they โ€œdid not expect that Hybe would claim grounds for disqualification by even citing shamanic managements,โ€ and added, โ€œit was a serious infringmenet of personal secrets to criticize him through a conversation with an acquaintance held before the establishment of Ador.


    MHJโ€™s lawyers regarding the plagiarism controversy by Illit said that โ€œregardless of whether it was legally plagiarized, it cannot be denied that it is too similar, and experts also point this out.โ€


    Hybeโ€™s arguments


    Hybeโ€™s lawyer argues they should be able to exercise voting rights because MHJโ€™s shareholder contract stipulates that she can be asked to resign if she causes damage of more than 1 billion won to Ador or commits illegal acts such as breach of trust or embezzlement, and that in that case a contractual obligation isnโ€™t relevant.


    Hybeโ€™s lawyers refute that they broke any promises or mistreated NewJeans. They state that โ€œCEO MHJ first conveyed that she does not care about the order of debut, and after receiving coaching from a shaman, she decided the timing of NewJeansโ€™ debut. The lawyers reveal that MHJ in a kakaotalk chat said, โ€œLetโ€™s all Bang Si-hyukโ€™s girl groups fail, and we will appear last like the main characters.โ€


    Hybeโ€™s lawyers accuse MHJ of using NewJeans as a shield. According to them MHJโ€™s interest is not in NewJeans itself, but the money NewJeans earns. The lawyers reveal additional Kakaotalk chats wherein MHJ states to a close associate that โ€œitโ€™s hard to treat the NewJeans members as artists...itโ€™s terrible to put up with them and support them. NewJeans success is because of me, not NewJeans.โ€


    Hybeโ€™s lawyers additionally claim that MHJ gaslighted the NewJeans members with the goal of wanting them to become mentally subordinate to her, and packages it as a โ€˜mother-daughter relationshipโ€™. Hybe points out that MHJ demand that NewJeans speak according to the script she had set out for them in external interviews.


    Hybe lawyers accuse MHJ of shamanic management. They state that MHJ believes the shaman was possessed by her deceased sister. Hybe discovered that MHJ had as many as 58,000 kakaotalk conversations with the shaman in 6 months. These conversations were about the plan to seize management rights, which employees to hire, and a large amount of trade secrets were also leaked.


    Hybeโ€™s lawyers reveal that MHJ received a report of sexual harassment by VP Lee, but that MHJ failed to protect the person behind the report, instead she made derogatory remarks about women herself.


    Hybe accuses MHJ of contacting the accountant in charge of BTS and try to sow distrust between them and Hybe with the end goal to have them leave together with Ador.


    Hybe shares a petition to the court from Bang Si-Hyuk wherein he conveys his apologies that the conflict has โ€œcaused concern to many members of our society and the public.โ€ He further states that โ€œno matter how sophisticated the system or thorough contract is, no human malice can be completely prevented.โ€ He hopes that the court will make a wise decision to dismiss the injunction.


    Hybeโ€™s side reveals to the media that MHJ met with officials from Naver and Dunamu, companies that have close relationships with Hybe, to propose the acquisition of Ador. MHJ is said to made remarks to a Danamu official โ€œto pressure Hybe so Ador can leaveโ€. The two companies believed that MHJโ€™s intentions were impure and reported the relevant facts to Hybe. Afterwards, during the audit, Hybe confirmed the circumstances of the attempt. Hybe discovered KakaoTalk logs on MHJโ€™s pc in which she states โ€œDunamu A doesnโ€™t even understand what is being saidโ€ and that โ€œNaver still understands it rather well.โ€


    May 18 - Reporter/Youtube Lee Jin-ho reveals on a youtube live supposed transcripts of kakaotalk conversations between MHJ and VP Lee wherein they make degrading comments about newjeans and Ador employees


    May 19 - MHJ releases a personal statement in reaction to Hybe's allegations made against her on the day of the injunction and to the kakaotalk chat transcripts revealed by reporter Lee Jin-ho on May 18. She first refutes that she met Naver and Dunamu officials to discuss the takeover of Ador as according to her it was just a private dinner unrelated to investment. MHJ again reiterates that Hybe illegally obtained information through the audit. Regarding the kakaotalk transcripts shared by Lee Jin-ho, MHJ states that Hybe misrepresented them through edits and they miss context of what she and MHJ have experienced together. She also makes clear that NewJeans still support her as all the members sent her text messages comforting her after the Kakaotalk chats were revealed. She concludes her statement by saying that she is sorry for the unavoidable noise and inconvenience that has been caused.


    Hybe releases a response to MHJ statement wherein they again request MHJ to stop using NewJeans as a shield. They also accusae MHJ of obscuring the essence of the conflict through inflammatory words, actions, and emotional appeals. Hybe states that MHJ's conversational logs contain countless details about contacting investors and her intentions, and that Hybe has never edited any material and received the data through due process and submitted the original text. They stress that there is clear evidence of the attempt to takeover management rights, shamanic management, and disparaging remarks about female office workers and artists; serious grounds for disqualification as the CEO of Ador.


    Reporter/Youtuber Lee Jin-ho releases one more supposed transcript of a Kakaotalk convo between MHJ and VP Lee wherein they discuss the option to terminate NewJeans contract and the potential consequences and cost of it.


    May 20 - Police announces that they will question Hybe officials this week about the breach of trust complaint they filed against MHJ. The police commissioner states that they have completed analyzing all the submitted materials by Hybe and will continue the necessary procedures at a speedy pace


    May 24 - NewJeans releases double single album 'How Sweet'


    May 31 - General sharholder meeting will be held. If MHJ loses the injunction she will be officially removed on this day, but if the wins the injunction Hybe will be unable to remove her.



    *reminder that these are not facts just reports from the media and the parties involved


    Article:

    Naver Article in Korean on the conflict

    YouTube streams:

    External Content youtu.be
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    External Content youtu.be
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.



  • ADDITIONAL UPDATES

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    External Content youtu.be
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    BLษ…ฯฝKPIะ˜Kโ™กJESSICAโ™กMEOVVโ™กMOO DENGโ™กNEWJEANSโ™กSEJEONGโ™กTHE ROSEโ™กTWICEโ™กYERIN BAEKโ™กYUKIKA

    931b476a8845696cee12b516765672754bc2ee4c.gifv98293eb140ef688be6c42c2b6153aa09fd3690bb.gifve10a81d25b0259bbebe35411de65baa3b0cbab61.gifv

    Edited once, last by DaisyTheGenuine ().

  • External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    Placeholding for a post? :whatr:


    Edit: Well your edit answered my question lol

    โคโคโค Micah Forever โคโคโค

    โคโค Benny's Smoll Bean โคโค


    zMDH6re.gif

  • External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    Seated for Updates!

    :meme-pulling-up-chair:

  • The fact that he doesn't greet them back wouldn't be deep by itself, the problem is all the issues that we already had before, and then you add that. The girls were probably feeling mistreated and then suddenly he doesn't even say hi to them.


    The same as how if there were a couple of similarities in the dance they'd have never complained, but when you have those dance moves + similar concept + similar visual design... it starts to become a problem.


    Honestly i think it's not that hard to understand, some people seem to be isolating each one of the things when the problem is everything together, the complain is that it's not just one or two things, they're not "coincidences" or "lack of manners"

    THANK YOU !!


    This is why I was talking about gaslighting earlier.


    If you look at the things isolated from each other itโ€™s easy to view them as coincidences and deny any wrong doings by pointing out how this isnโ€™t new, has been done before, has been heard before etc etcโ€ฆ. Itโ€™s only when you combine everything together, thatโ€™s when you start to see the pattern.

  • Placeholding for a post? :whatr:


    Edit: Well your edit answered my question lol

    Somebody's gotta plug them in a thread thats about them :nj-13:

    BLษ…ฯฝKPIะ˜Kโ™กJESSICAโ™กMEOVVโ™กMOO DENGโ™กNEWJEANSโ™กSEJEONGโ™กTHE ROSEโ™กTWICEโ™กYERIN BAEKโ™กYUKIKA

    931b476a8845696cee12b516765672754bc2ee4c.gifv98293eb140ef688be6c42c2b6153aa09fd3690bb.gifve10a81d25b0259bbebe35411de65baa3b0cbab61.gifv

  • I'm not even going to pick up where I left off, because it's useless clutter and irrelevant in the big picture.


    I will ONCE AGAIN ask that people at least refrain from attacking and generalizing an entire fandom just because you dislike MHJ (or want to see NewJeans fail in some cases).


    Regardless of how people feel about MHJ, I maintain that ANY fandom would be raging mad over what's happened to them over the past two weeks, when we should be getting excited for their first come back in 10 months, happening to any of their favorite groups.


    I will tone down my aggression, but I will not apologize for going at the people who kept posting toxic, hateful comments about the girls and their fans.

  • THANK YOU !!


    This is why I was talking about gaslighting earlier.


    If you look at the things isolated from each other itโ€™s easy to view them as coincidences and deny any wrong doings by pointing out how this isnโ€™t new, has been done before, has been heard before etc etcโ€ฆ. Itโ€™s only when you combine everything together, thatโ€™s when you start to see the pattern.

    Before my notifs got lit up, I was going to say the same thing. In isolation, maybe you could get away with writing off these events. But in the broader context, and looking at each incident cumulatively, it's a HUGE problem. Who could be at peace with the short term and long term future of the group being in the hands of a man who clearly doesn't like them and isn't happy to see them do well?

  • This goes for the one who played the victim about how she was the public enemy n1.

    This is what you said to me quoting one of my comments


    "Your comments have been largely absent of rational argumentation, so it makes your cries for rational complaints fall on deaf ears"


    If you are going to play victim and whining about how you have being insulted being called irrational by me, try to remember that you did it first, that way , we would have saved ourselves from the drama of the tokkie savior who throws a tantrum because someone did the same than them, and that its unnacceptable

  • Do we think the HybexAdor has an imminent effect on K-pop?


    The industry is moving well, but you can still feel the tension. A case like it be definitely the precedent.

    Hybe being the industry mover, and having the biggest market pie, definitely got to have some impact.

  • let's go!...we're slowly catching up to the reddit megathread.

    Our megathread is way better than the second Hybe Headquarters Reddit has turned into. As annoying as some of the toxicity towards NJ/MHJ in this thread has been, it's nowhere close to the sanctioned hostility towards them on Reddit.


    I swear if I see one more person declare they're blocking NewJeans on Spotify and refusing to listen to their music ever again :meme-picard-facepalm:

  • :meme-i-aint-reading-all-that::meme-trying-not-to-laugh:

  • Do we think the HybexAdor has an imminent effect on K-pop?


    The industry is moving well, but you can still feel the tension. A case like it be definitely the precedent.

    Hybe being the industry mover, and having the biggest market pie, definitely got to have some impact.

    I think it's effecting all their artists for sure. I don't see much for any of the groups right now. No promotions, etc. other then Seventeen, but again I'm a casual listener, so I may just not be seeing anything for that reason.

  • Nobody made a thread about it so I decided to do it myself, some people commented about it on the hybe vs ador megathread but this is a different topic, so let's go folks.


    TMIKpop (@tmikpop) on X
    7) Biz Chosun reports that New Jeansโ€™ upcoming release โ€œBubble Gumโ€ is subject to a plagiarism controversy due to similarities with a 1982 song called Easierโ€ฆ
    twitter.com


    12 hours ago the original group answered they would look into it so it seems they were not aware of this, so there is possibilities this was not a sample


    เฑจเงŽ ๐Ÿงฉ Protect illit (@superluckygal) on X
    @tmikpop There is the original artist literally not knowing a thing speaking to a k-media journalist
    twitter.com


    SHAKATAK (@SHAKATAK_UK) on X
    @theseoulite Thank you all for your info and support on this Itโ€™s lovely to hear we still have great fans in S Korea ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽน
    twitter.com


    And the comparison shows is a straight up copy


    r u b y ; (@rubyvely) on X
    it's basically a COPY
    twitter.com


    We know mhj entire thing with newjeans is just rip off whatever music or concept from at least 40 years ago in a "innovative" and "different" from the rest of kpop package, but I have to admit that this must be a sample the original band is not aware off, I couldn't believe mhj would be this crazy to plagiarize a song without covering her back paying for the sample of the song. Newjeans and Illit are basically that simpsons meme with family guy and american dad, plagio and plagio di plagio.


    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

  • Emotionally, we all getting disturbed and invested as more news pop up, it's not even in middle stages yet.

    :meme-hiss:


    I think we all need a little break.

    :meme-free-hugs:

    Agreed, hugs and chamomile tea to help everyone calm thyselves

    โคโคโค Micah Forever โคโคโค

    โคโค Benny's Smoll Bean โคโค


    zMDH6re.gif

  • If you look at the things isolated from each other itโ€™s easy to view them as coincidences and deny any wrong doings by pointing out how this isnโ€™t new, has been done before, has been heard before etc etcโ€ฆ. Itโ€™s only when you combine everything together, thatโ€™s when you start to see the pattern.

    And it is that pattern, especially in the face of how he treats others, that is insidious.


    Adding that IMO, while not greeting another may not be "mistreatment", it certainly makes for a hostile work environment. If he's singling them out, which is what it sounds like at face value and I can see why the parents are offended by it. I'd feel the same if someone continuously avoided me at work

  • Differing discussion is good and neccessary. Debating is healthy. But ngl some of yall are doing absolutely nothing but being obnoxious andd spamming the exact same comment/rant over and over.


    We get it:

    • BTS slept on the floor during the Mesopotamian era of kpop and personally birthed kpop through immaculate conception which makes Newjeans and their parents greedy, spoiled brats.
    • Newjeans leave Hybe and stop wasting BTS's hairgel fund
    • Whats the big deal if Ill-it copies (insert one of the dozen things Belift has been accused of lifting atp) it's all a coincidence

    Its the same users that have been spamming the same comments with nothing new dozens of times already. We get it. Shut up already.

    BLษ…ฯฝKPIะ˜Kโ™กJESSICAโ™กMEOVVโ™กMOO DENGโ™กNEWJEANSโ™กSEJEONGโ™กTHE ROSEโ™กTWICEโ™กYERIN BAEKโ™กYUKIKA

    931b476a8845696cee12b516765672754bc2ee4c.gifv98293eb140ef688be6c42c2b6153aa09fd3690bb.gifve10a81d25b0259bbebe35411de65baa3b0cbab61.gifv

  • "12 hours ago the original group answered they would look into it so it seems they were not aware of this, so there is possibilities this was not a sample"


    Mess :pepe-shame:


    Edit - It's similar, can't deny it.

    Seems like this is a legit plagiarism, they are not dumb not buying the sample right?

    Edited once, last by Wateris ().

  • Differing discussion is good and neccessary. Debating is healthy. But ngl some of yall are doing absolutely nothing but being obnoxious andd spamming the exact same comment/rant over and over.


    We get it:

    • BTS slept on the floor during the Mesopotamian era of kpop and personally birthed kpop through immaculate conception which makes Newjeans and their parents greedy, spoiled brats.
    • Newjeans leave Hybe and stop wasting BTS's hairgel fund
    • Whats the big deal if Ill-it copies (insert one of the dozen things Belift has been accused of lifting atp) it's all a coincidence

    Its the same users that have been spamming the same comments with nothing new dozens of times already. We get it. Shut up already.

    Don't forget NewJeans are spoiled, entitled ingrates with Princess Syndrome. That one has been popular since the parent's letter came out.

  • Don't forget NewJeans are spoiled, entitled ingrates with Princess Syndrome. That one has been popular since the parent's letter came out.

    That's been popping off since day one.

    BLษ…ฯฝKPIะ˜Kโ™กJESSICAโ™กMEOVVโ™กMOO DENGโ™กNEWJEANSโ™กSEJEONGโ™กTHE ROSEโ™กTWICEโ™กYERIN BAEKโ™กYUKIKA

    931b476a8845696cee12b516765672754bc2ee4c.gifv98293eb140ef688be6c42c2b6153aa09fd3690bb.gifve10a81d25b0259bbebe35411de65baa3b0cbab61.gifv

  • Hi,


    That same article Sportschosun deleted or is this a new article? If it's the deleted one, it was debunked to the point Sportschosun deleted it and is getting creamed by knetz for posting it (supposedly the writer has been writing pro-hybe articles since the incident, attacking MHJ and NJ).


    It's been mentioned that song is a cleared sample and has been used 13 times over the years.


    Maybe the gents from the band don't own their masters and have no idea? It happens sometimes.


    -knysom

  • It's funny how nj member and producer crying plagiarism as if they don't hunt for bp endorsement like there are million brands out there, and they chose bp ones to make noises.

    Petty asf, they're behaving like blinks actually rofl


    And their parents too lol

  • There's another one?? So this didn't stop with that Japanese girl group called Speed and Attention MV very clear cut copy but there is also talks of Pharell sampling too. This is hilarious beyond comprehension. While no one can dare copy her precious New Jeans she can copy ancient music acts in hopes no one the wiser would go digging so far in the past.

  • why is there a 3rd megathread now :memoji-cat-scare:

    why is this drama not over :memoji-cat-scare:

    It has to live to torture you! :nct38:

  • It's funny how nj member and producer crying plagiarism as if they don't hunt for bp endorsement like there are million brands out there, and they chose bp ones to make noises.

    Petty asf, they're behaving like blinks actually rofl


    And their parents too lol

    now why you gotta come in here and start shit back up....out!

  • This thread contains 3,779 more posts that have been hidden for guests, please register yourself or login to continue reading.

Participate now!

Donโ€™t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!