Five trade groups representing South Korea’s K-pop industry have warned that the ongoing dispute between HYBE, its label ADOR, and K-pop girl NJZ, formerly known as NewJeans, could destabilize the industry if it sets a precedent.
The groups urged the government to take action against “tampering” – the practice of attempting to poach artists who are under an exclusive contract.
“If tampering attempts succeed, Korea’s entertainment management industry will collapse,” the groups said in a statement issued Wednesday, as quoted by The Korea Times.
“This issue extends beyond domestic disputes — foreign capital could step in and take over the K-pop industry entirely.”
The groups behind the statement are the Korea Management Federation, the Korea Entertainment Producer’s Association, the Record Label Industry Association of Korea, the Recording Industry Association of Korea, and the Korea Music Content Association.
While the groups didn’t directly allege that tampering has occurred in the case of NewJeans – who rebranded themselves as NJZ earlier this month – their statement did reference news reports last fall alleging that Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of ADOR and the person credited with creating NewJeans, had attempted to lure the group away from ADOR.
That led to the Korea Music Content Association issuing a warning to Min and the group.
Weeks earlier, NewJeans announced in a press conference that they were unilaterally terminating their contract with ADOR over alleged mistreatment of group members by the label.
ADOR has “neither the ability nor the will to protect” NewJeans, group member Hanni said at the press conference. In testimony before a parliamentary committee, and in a now-deleted YouTube video, Hanni had alleged harassment and alienation of NewJeans members by ADOR staff.
“This issue extends beyond domestic disputes — foreign capital could step in and take over the K-pop industry entirely.”
Korean music industry groups
ADOR rejected NewJeans’ declaration that their contract was no longer valid, arguing it remains in “full effect.” The label promptly took legal action against the group, asking a court to uphold the validity of NewJeans members’ exclusive contracts. A month later, ADOR went to court again, seeking an injunction to prevent the group from pursuing activities independently.
The band responded by hiring legal representation, and the name change to NJZ was seen as a sign that group members don’t intend to return to ADOR.
The seeds of the conflict were sown last April when HYBE alleged that Min Hee-jin, then still the CEO of ADOR, had attempted unlawfully to sever the label from HYBE, which owns a majority stake in ADOR.
Min was replaced as CEO last summer. News reports indicated that NewJeans members had sided with Min in the ongoing dispute, which led to the alleged tensions between the label and the group.
In their statement Wednesday, the music industry groups expressed concerns about the public nature of the dispute between Min, HYBE, and NewJeans/NJZ, singling out Min’s press conference last spring in which she refuted HYBE’s allegations against her and Hanni’s appearance before a parliamentary committee.
“The five music organizations would like to ask certain agencies and artists to stop manipulating public opinion without any basis to achieve their own interests to ensure the sustainable development of the popular culture and arts industry,” the groups said, as quoted by Sportskeeda.
The group urged the South Korean government to enact new regulations to prevent tampering, drawing a parallel between such regulation and existing rules meant to protect other industries.
“Just as Korea has enacted regulations to safeguard key industries like semiconductors, the government must establish measures to curb tampering and ensure contract integrity … Tampering-related disputes are not just industry squabbles — they pose a major risk to one of Korea’s most vital industries,” they said, as quoted by the Times.
However, the groups expressed opposition to other types of regulations being imposed on the K-pop industry, among them a bill tabled last fall, dubbed the ‘NewJeans Hanni Act,’ that would extend the country’s rules against workplace bullying to include individuals who don’t have a traditional employer-employee relationship, such as artists under contract.
“We are not opposed to regulations, but issues such as contract settlements between companies and artists or labor conditions for minors have vastly different characteristics and should be discussed individually within the industry,” the groups said, as quoted by The Korea Herald.
“Guidelines for self-regulation and consensus should be established before external intervention.”Music Business Worldwide
