HYBE-ADOR feud: a comprehensive timeline of events

nme.com:

HYBE and its subsidiary label ADOR has emerged as one of the most high profile feuds we’ve witnessed in K-pop in recent memory.ADOR, which houses popular K-pop girl group NewJeans, is helmed by former SM Entertainment creative director Min Hee-jin and was once poised to become one of HYBE’s most lucrative labels.

However, it is now at the centre of an alleged power struggle over the treatment and management of NewJeans and future creative projects under ADOR.Founded in November 2021, Min Hee-jin launched the label after two years as HYBE’s Chief Brand Officer.

The futures of both ADOR and NewJeans remains unclear as the label and its parent company continue to vie for control and autonomy over management and creative direction of the label and NewJeans.Although many blanks have yet to be filled in the overarching battle, below is a full timeline of events that have occurred since both parties have taken their dispute to the public arena.The first signs of a power struggle between HYBE and its subsidiary K-pop agency ADOR, home to NewJeans, first emerged on April 22, when South Korean media reported that the audit team of entertainment giant HYBE had launched an investigation into ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and an unnamed executive of the company.HYBE later confirmed that it did launch an audit into ADOR executives over a suspicion that they were trying to take control of the K-pop agency, however no specific staff members were named in HYBE’s confirmation.

Following the news, the stock price of HYBE began to drop.Shortly after the news of HYBE’s audit into ADOR broke, CEO Min Hee-jin issued a statement accusing HYBE of “undermining” NewJeans’ success.