More than a month after HYBE-affiliated label ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin successfully prevented HYBE from being fired, another HYBE-affiliated label has filed a lawsuit against the embattled executive and the executive producer of New Jeans.
The Korea JoongAng Ilbo reported on Monday (July 15) that Source Music, a South Korean label under HYBE Labels, the label that represents K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM, has sued Min for 500 million Korean won (approximately $361,000). Min claims that comments made during two emotional press conferences in April amounted to defamation and obstruction of business, causing damage to the LE SSERAFIM project.
During the press conference, Min claimed that her previous girl group project with Source was pushed aside when HYBE decided to focus on LE SSERAFIM (notably featuring two members of hugely popular girl group IZ*ONE). According to Min, that change in focus led her to leave Source and found ADOR to house her projects, an imprint under HYBE Labels that Min previously told Billboard she “started with guaranteed autonomy.” The imprint eventually became NewJeans.
During the press conference, the ADOR CEO also made what some considered derogatory comments about several HYBE artists and Source Music's talent casting, telling reporters that future NewJeans member Minzy was the only one she wanted to recruit as a Source trainee, and that she cast the rest of the group herself.
After Les Seraphim debuted at Coachella in April, they faced heated discussion in the Korean media about the pressures on K-pop artists, which was further heated by Min's comments afterward. The backlash to her criticism was so intense that New Jeans and its five members disabled the comments section on Instagram in late June.
HYBE confirmed to Billboard that Source Music has filed a 500 million won lawsuit against Min Heejin.
In a statement to Billboard, Source Music said, “The label's lawsuit contains three main grievances: (A) Min alleged that she personally selected the NewJeans members as trainees; (B) Min alleged that the company unilaterally broke its promise to debut NewJeans as HYBE's first girl group; and (C) Min alleged that Source Music ignored the NewJeans members.”
“The members of New Jeans have been trained by Source Music. It was Source Music that chose them as trainees, not Min personally.”
The new lawsuit marks the second time a subsidiary of HYBE has filed a lawsuit against Min. In May, BELIFT LAB filed a lawsuit for defamation and obstruction of business over Min's comments that BELIFT's breakout girl group ILLIT had plagiarized NewJeans, claiming that the label “copied all of the formulas that the group and I had.”
The new lawsuit filed by Source is just the latest twist in an ever-unfolding drama. On July 9, Min reportedly arrived for questioning at Yongsan Police Station in Seoul after HYBE had reported him to the authorities for alleged breach of trust. Continuing his trend of interacting with the media directly (rather than issuing a press release or statement, as HYBE has done), Min left the station eight hours later with a smile on his face, telling reporters gathered outside that HYBE's accusations were a “comedy.”
Amid the turmoil, New Jeans has continued to release new music. In late June, the group released their first two singles for the Japanese market, “Supernatural” (which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100) and its B-side, “Right Now” (which peaked at #47 on the same chart), and held a fan meeting at the famed Tokyo Dome. Meanwhile, Source Music has confirmed that LE SSERAFIM is set to release new music at the end of August, following their February release of the EP “Easy” (which peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200).