The video had no K-pop characteristics at all. There are no standout songs, no fancy costumes, and no slick dance routines. There are definitely no stars. It was set up in an unremarkable auditorium with plain white tables and a large projector screen.
However, it immediately became a hot topic in the K-pop world because it contained screenshots of conversations between industry powerhouses.
It was a two-hour emotional talk live broadcast last month by Min Hee-jin, producer of the hottest K-pop singer New Jeans. She called the press conference to dispute allegations of corporate misconduct by her employer, Hive, the K-pop mogul behind BTS.
The unusually public and hostile feud, which included allegations of plagiarism, chart manipulation, and shamanism, cost Hybe hundreds of millions of dollars in market value. And a cloud was cast over Hybe's relationship with rising star NewJeans, while Hybe's biggest act, BTS, went on hiatus.
“This is about money. It’s about control and ownership of the artist,” said Andrew Eungi Kim, referring to NewJeans. Kim, a professor at Korea University, studies the cultural influence of Korea, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave.
It is expected that BTS members, who are all serving in the military due to mandatory military service, will not be able to reunite until next year. As some of them release solo albums, New Genes continues to receive favorable reviews. Last year, it topped the Billboard 200, was performed at Lollapalooza, and appeared in commercials for Apple and Coca-Cola.
The creative force behind this activity is Min, who was recruited by Hive to develop the girl group. Her backlash against Hybe and its founder Bang Si-hyuk resonated widely in South Korea, where corporate life can be extremely hierarchical.
“She is like a helpless visionary fighting against giant corporations,” Kim said.
Hybe, which started under the label Big Hit nearly 20 years ago, has become a dominant force in K-pop thanks to the global success of BTS. It went public in 2020, and a year later its market value peaked at about $12 billion. Since then, the stock price has fallen by about half amid concerns that it will not be able to keep up with BTS's profitability.
Hive also achieved success with other groups such as Seventeen and Tomorrow by Together. He has also expanded in the United States through deals such as the acquisition of Ithaca Holdings, which manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. In 2022, New Genes released their first single, “Attention,” without the fanfare typical of K-pop debuts. The following year was Hybe's most profitable on record, with the company posting annual profits of approximately KRW 186.6 billion, or $136 million.
One of the first public signs of Hybe's turmoil came on April 22 when it announced it would audit Ador, a subsidiary run by Mr Min. Mr. Min accused him of trying to illegally take over Ador and demanded his resignation. Hybe owns 80% of Ador, with Mr. Min owning 18% and the rest being owned by other executives. On April 25, Hive filed a police complaint against her.
Mr. Min responded publicly through a press conference on the same day. Wearing a green T-shirt with white stripes and a Los Angeles Dodgers cap, she looked disheveled and broke down several times. She rejected Hybe's accusations and shared screenshots of a chat with her company's founder, Mr Bang, which she suggested was evidence of a difficult work environment.
She also said she was not compensated fairly and accused Hybe of plagiarizing her work with NewJeans to improve other acts. Hive denied her claims.
For Min, the dispute was a tug-of-war between creative and corporate interests.
“All I care about is NewJeans,” Min said in comments live-streamed by a major South Korean broadcaster.
Two days later, New Genes' new song 'Bubble Gum' was released as scheduled.
“It is time to reconsider the nature of the entertainment industry,” Min said in a written response to a question. She added that for K-pop to continue to thrive, the industry must focus “fundamentally on creators and creation” rather than money and management.
After Min's appearance, rumors about hive artists, chart manipulation, and pseudo-religions spread on the Internet. For fans, this tarnished the image of their favorite singer.
A group of BTS fans placed an ad in a local newspaper criticizing Hive for airing their dirty laundry. Another protested outside Hybe's office.
Ian Liu, a NewJeans fan from Jakarta, Indonesia, had similar feelings. “Artists are collateral damage,” he said.
Hive was also involved in a public feud last year, which involved a fight with an outside political party. It was a bidding war for SM Entertainment, another K-pop company, and South Korean tech giant Kakao won.
The dispute with Mr. Lee, the representative of Ador, is heading to court.
“It’s difficult to predict what will happen at this point,” said Gyu-tak Lee, a cultural anthropology professor at George Mason University’s Korean branch. “Ultimately, this issue of Hive and Ador will be a learning opportunity for other agencies to learn how to effectively manage their own companies.”