SEOUL, Feb 21 — Members of girl group NewJeans have accused Hybe of attempting to block their rebranding as NJZ, while major K-pop industry groups have raised concerns over potential disruptions to the industry.
According to Korea Joongang Daily, Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk allegedly called organisers of a Hong Kong concert in an attempt to prevent NJZ from performing at the event next month.
The parents of NJZ, which the five NewJeans members announced as their new group name earlier this month, claimed that both Hybe and NewJeans’ agency Ador were trying to stop them from appearing at the Complex Live concert.
“We heard that Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk personally made calls to officials in the United States so that the NJZ members’ performance would be cancelled,” the parents wrote in a statement posted on Wednesday to the @njz_pr Instagram account.
“Chairman [Bang], we have not heard from you ever since we sent you our complaint email in April 2024. If you have so much to say, then please call us personally, not other people.”
The NJZ PR account also criticised a joint statement released by five major K-pop industry organisations, which urged authorities to regulate ‘tampering’ — the practice of artists switching agencies while still under contract.
The Korea Management Federation, the Korea Entertainment Producers’ Association, the Record Label Industry Association of Korea, the Recording Industry Association of Korea and the Korea Music Content Association released the statement on Wednesday, expressing concern over recent contract disputes.
“The tendency of trying to manipulate public opinion and making unilateral arguments, without trying to work things out legally or through mutual agreements, has been spreading like a trend,” the statement read.
“Such examples are the press conference held by former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, Hanni attending the parliamentary audit, and the girl group pursuing their own activities, which were issues that should have been solved privately.”
The organisations denied targeting any specific agency or artist but called for government intervention.
“Tampering can bring down an agency, which makes a huge investment over a long period of time by taking a bet only on the future value of an artist,” they stated.
They warned that unregulated disputes could damage K-pop’s global reputation and open the industry to foreign control.
The NJZ PR account dismissed the statement as unfair, arguing that it ignored how agencies failed to protect artists.
“It is ironic to see the organisations take the side of a company and only point out the damage to the company when an agency has in fact failed to protect its members,” read the Instagram post.
“The NJZ members are going to perform at the ComplexCon event in Hong Kong. They are excitedly getting ready to show a new side of themselves to the fans around the world, having broken off from the horrible days with Hybe and Ador.”
Ador responded on Wednesday evening, denying any attempts to interfere with NJZ’s performance. “Ador has never tried to sabotage NewJeans’ Hong Kong performance,” the agency said.
“We have also confirmed that Bang Si-hyuk has not made any contact regarding NewJeans’ Hong Kong performance. We asked the organisers, as we have also asked domestic reporters, to use the official team name ‘NewJeans’ and also asked that they make the [live performance] deal through Ador as is dictated by the exclusive contract.”
The legal dispute between NJZ and Ador is set for two hearings: one on March 7, regarding Ador’s injunction to prevent NJZ from signing independent contracts, and another on April 3 to determine whether the contract between the two parties was legally terminated.
The five singers are represented by law firm Shin & Kim, which also represents Min.
They have yet to announce a new agency but mentioned in a February 7 Instagram live session that they were “also getting a new agent soon.”
NJZ is scheduled to headline the last day of ComplexCon Hong Kong on March 23. The event runs from March 21 to 23 at the Hong Kong Asia World-Expo.
Meanwhile, the five K-pop organisations plan to hold a press conference on February 27 to discuss what they call a “K-pop crisis.”
