HYBE to respond to NewJeans' ultimatum with 'calm measures'

The new CEO of HYBE, Lee Jae-sang, said the agency will respond with calm, principled measures to NewJeans' demand that former CEO Min Hee-jin be reinstated.

Lee Jae-sang, the newly-appointed CEO of HYBE at left, and girl group NewJeans [HYBE, ADOR]

HYBE will take "calm measures based on principles" regarding an ultimatum by girl group NewJeans, according to the company's new CEO, Lee Jae-sang, on day one of the job.

"We will deal with it based on our rules," Lee said at a shareholder meeting held Thursday, where he was officially appointed as the new CEO of HYBE to replace Park Ji-won.

"In retrospect, it was always the one who stuck to principles that won," he said, when asked about NewJeans' abrupt YouTube livestream held a day earlier.

The five members of NewJeans claimed that they had been exposed to "subtle bullying" by the staff at HYBE and that the new CEO of their agency, ADOR, did not take measures to protect them properly. The group demanded that HYBE reinstate Min Hee-jin as the CEO of ADOR by Sept. 25, although it did not say what measures it will take after the deadline.

"HYBE is a company that protects principles and sticks to management based on righteousness, and we have no plan to change it," Lee said.

Members of girl group NewJeans hold a YouTube livestream on Sept. 11. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Industry insiders are speculating that NewJeans is getting ready to file for an injunction on their exclusive contracts with ADOR after Sept. 25. Standard contracts signed by K-pop artists state that a company has two weeks to fix a clause in the contract or make other necessary changes before the artists take the case to court.

Since it is highly unlikely that HYBE will reinstate Min, NewJeans' case will need to be fought in court, should the members choose to do so.

If the court sides with the NewJeans members, they will then be able to join another agency of their choosing. However, the girl group may have to pay up to 300 billion won ($225 million) to break off the deal with ADOR without the court's blessing, as the contract dictates that artists must pay the agency the group's average monthly revenue over the past two years multiplied by the number of months left on the contract.

ADOR drew in 110 billion won last year and NewJeans debuted in July 2022, giving the band five more years to fulfill seven-year contract.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]