HYBE initiated an audit into the management of its subsidiary label, ADOR. In response, ADOR disputed, stating “It seems incomprehensible, on a commonsense level, that any legitimate concerns to uphold the cultural achievements of our artist NewJeans could somehow be detrimental to ADOR’s interests or amount to a usurpation of ADOR’s management rights by HYBE.”
On April 22, ADOR articulated its stance in a statement titled ‘ADOR’s Official Position on the ILLIT NewJeans Copy Incident.’ ADOR claimed, “While HYBE operates a multi-label system to pursue cultural diversity, one of its labels, ADOR, and its affiliated artist, NewJeans, ironically suffer the most serious infringement by HYBE.”
ADOR mentioned ILLIT, a five-member girl group that debuted in March. ILLIT is under HYBE’s subsidiary label, BELIFT LAB, with HYBE’s Chairman, Bang Si-Hyuk, overseeing the production of their debut album.
ADOR pointed out that ILLIT has been copying NewJeans in every aspect of entertainment activities, including hair, makeup, costumes, choreography, photos, videos, and event appearances, stating it’s “truly shameful.” They further asserted that the copying of NewJeans by ILLIT involves both BELIFT LAB and HYBE, with HYBE “shamelessly generating banality by freely copying successful cultural content.”
According to ADOR, they raised concerns with HYBE regarding this issue. However, HYBE and BELIFT LAB refused to acknowledge their wrongdoing and hastily offered excuses. ADOR claimed that instead of providing specific answers, HYBE suddenly notified of the suspension and dismissal process of CEO Min Hee-jin, attempting media manipulation with absurd statements like “there is a concern about CEO Min significantly damaging ADOR’s corporate value” and “CEO Min attempted to usurp management rights.”
ADOR stated that HYBE, BELIFT LAB, and Chairman Bang seemed to think that simply expelling CEO Min from the company would resolve the issue, but ADOR would not back down. They announced their official position after sufficient discussions with NewJeans members and legal representatives, stating they hoped to dispel misunderstandings among fans and the public regarding the ‘ILLIT NewJeans Copy Incident.’
On this day, HYBE activated its audit authority over CEO Min and ADOR’s management team, including individual A. HYBE reportedly received tips alleging a plan by CEO Min and individual A to seize control of ADOR’s management rights.