In a rare act of defiance, a top K-pop group is going rogue
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- K-pop group NewJeans called out record label Hybe in a rogue YouTube livestream.
- It marked a surprising act of rebellion in the tightly-managed K-pop industry.
- Hybe and NewJeans are largely feuding over one prominent record exec.
An escalating feud with one of its top K-pop groups, NewJeans, could have financial implications for South Korean music giant Hybe.
The public spat is something of a rarity in the world of K-pop, where groups are developed and closely managed by powerful record companies and talent agencies.
Bloomberg reports Hybe's stock has dipped as a result of the feud. Shares dropped as much as 6% after NewJeans called out Hybe in a rogue YouTube livestream Wednesday.
The feud at Hybe is largely centered around one woman: NewJeans' producer Min Hee-jin. Hybe wants her out, but the group has demanded she be reinstated by September 25.
Min formerly served as the CEO of ADOR, NewJeans' label subsidiary at Hybe.
But Hybe claimed Min was trying to take control of ADOR and asked her to step down in April, Billboard reports. In May, a court ruled Min could keep the job, but Hybe announced she would step down in August.
During their stream Wednesday, NewJeans made other claims against Hybe.
One NewJeans member said the manager of another girl group told the group to ignore her when they crossed paths in a Hybe building. And another member said Hybe failed to take action when the group's personal information and medical records were leaked online.
NewJeans debuted in July 2022 with a track called "Attention" — and quickly went on to break streaming records, with its members also clinching lucrative brand deals.
The group — which generated $73 million in revenues last year, according to Bloomberg — is made up of singers Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. Their band name refers to the timelessness of the article of clothing, and their sound has been inspired by pop hits of the 90s and 2000s.
Hybe did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
While Bloomberg notes Hybe has lost 27% of its market value since the conflict kicked off in April, the record giant is far from alone.
Each of the top four publicly-traded K-pop labels — HYBE, JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment — have seen their market capitalizations plummet in 2024, CNBC reports.