ADOR has publicly replied to reports that HYBE is conducting an audit against its management. On April 22, HYBE said that it had started an investigation into the claims made by ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and another manager-level employee of the subsidiary to separate them from the parent company. ADOR’s reaction includes charges of plagiarism against their artist, NewJeans, and HYBE’s latest girl group, ILLIT. HYBE CEO Bang Si-hyuk personally oversaw the whole production of ILLIT.
Min Hee-jin said in a public statement that the claims were an “absurd media play.” “They are trying to dismiss me as I took issue with ILLIT copying NewJeans,” she said, making reference to the most recent new girl group from BELIFT LAB, which made its debut last month.
ILLIT’s first single, Magnetic, debuted at No. 91 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list and is presently trending online.
ADOR proceeded to provide a comprehensive declaration detailing the internal conflicts within the HYBE ecosystem pertaining to ILLIT’s copying of the design and sound of NewJeans. It went on to say that ADOR is one of the labels that are part of HYBE’s multi-label system, which allows other labels to independently produce music and seek cultural variety.
The label released a statement that Soompi translated, saying, “Ironically, ADOR and our agency artist NewJeans’ cultural achievements are being most severely infringed upon by HYBE.”
The announcement stated that ILLIT’s debut album was produced by HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk. According to them, ILLIT did not imitate NewJeans on its own; rather, HYBE was engaged alongside the BELIFT LAB.
Additionally, they said that HYBE, a well-known K-pop company, is “mass-producing unoriginality” by blatantly duplicating popular cultural content because it is blinded by short-term profitability. They went on to say that several people had expressed their belief that, given that both ILLIT and NewJeans are HYBE-labeled, it makes sense. “Some even think that ADOR and NewJeans have allowed or consented to this similarity. However, these reactions are clearly a misunderstanding, and we want to clarify this.”
A multi-label system allows each label to autonomously produce the music that they desire, rather than allowing other labels to take credit for each other’s cultural accomplishments just because they are associated with companies, they added. They continued by making it clear that ADOR has never approved of or permitted HYBE and BELIFT LAB or anybody else to replicate NewJeans’ accomplishments.
According to ADOR, it is not in favour of any kind of association between NewJeans and ILLIT, and it will not tolerate marketing that portrays them as sibling groups simply because they made their debuts under HYBE labels.
In response to HYBE’s audit of them, ADOR stated that both HYBE and BELIFT LAB had refuted their misconduct and were preoccupied with coming up with new excuses rather than providing substantive responses. They went on to say that they are trying to pull off absurd media plays, including saying that CEO Min Hee-jin “tried to seize management rights.” They claimed that it seems as though Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, HYBE and BELIFT LAB believe that dismissing CEO Min Hee-jin will resolve the matter without offering appropriate steps or regrets.
However, ADOR stated that they will employ every strategy at their disposal to safeguard the cultural accomplishments that NewJeans has laboured to establish and to stop future infringement brought about by copying. They continued by saying that as ILLIT’s activities rise, HYBE and BELIFT LAB may attempt to downplay the occurrence by emphasising the distinctions between NewJeans and ILLIT and that misconceptions among the public and fans may also grow with time.
Consequently, ADOR stated that it had made the decision to make an official announcement following extensive deliberation with NewJeans members and legal counsel.
HYBE owns 80 per cent of ADOR, with Min Hee-jin and ADOR management owning the remaining 20 per cent. Remarkably, Min Hee-jin was important in the formation of the idol group NewJeans. She began working for the label in 2019 as chief brand officer and became CEO of ADOR in November 2021.
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