Hybe shares fall as K-pop sensation NewJeans announces break with the entertainment agency

Shares in South Korean entertainment giant Hybe plummeted yesterday after members of the company’s preeminent K-pop girl group, NewJeans, announced they were splitting from the firm. Hybe, which is also home to boy band BTS and trades on the Korean Stock exchange, lost nearly 7% in market value on the news and closed the day 4% down.

On Thursday, the five NewJeans members held a press conference announcing they were terminating their contract with Hybe, which owns the ADOR label that represents the band. NewJeans’ announcement comes after months of tension with the company.

The K-pop band is one of the biggest global sensations to come out of South Korea since BTS and Blackpink. Launched in 2022, NewJeans generated $83 million in 2023 revenue for ADOR via album sales, live events, and brand partnerships with heavyweights including Apple, Coca-Cola, and Nike. NewJeans stratospheric success is widely credited to the orchestration of the band’s creative director, Min Hee-jin.

Before her departure from ADOR, Min served as CEO and producer for NewJeans, overseeing both the business and creative direction for the band. In a rare, multi-hour interview last year with Fast Company—before these controversies started—she spoke about pushing back on the pressure put on young K-pop artists, who often train with labels rather than attend school.

“I want to [help] them make fun, happy memories—something that they can really look back on and enjoy even when they grow old,” Min said. “I think when you’re working with such young girls and [you’re] somebody who owns this business, you have to have an ethical sense of mind. What I wanted to do was, just like school, I wanted to teach them ways that would help them live a really happy life later on.”

Earlier this year, Hybe attempted to push Min out of the ADOR label. The battle has seen accusations fly on both sides, including alleged mistreatment at the company’s hands against NewJeans’ members. For its part, the band has stayed firmly on the side of Min.

And now the band has announced they will terminate their contract with Hybe in protest of the company’s dispute with Min, reports the Yonhap News Agency.

“Neither Hybe nor ADOR have shown any willingness to improve the situation or accept our demands,” the band said at a press conference. “ADOR lacks both the will and the ability to protect NewJeans.”

“There is nothing we can gain professionally from staying here, so the five of us see no reason to remain at ADOR,” the NewJeans member known as Hanni said at the event.

In response to the band’s announcement, Hybe issued a statement in which it said, “We regret that the press conference on the termination of the contract took place without sufficient consideration, and even before we gave our response to the demand letter.” The statement also claimed that “As a party to the exclusive contract, ADOR has not violated the terms, and a unilateral claim that trust has been broken does not constitute valid grounds for termination of a contract.”

NewJeans’ announcement of their intent to terminate their contract comes amid a down year for Hybe. With BTS on hiatus while members complete their military service and sluggish sales of other artists, Hybe’s revenue for the the first nine months of 2024 was down nearly 40% year over year. Its stock price has fallen 16% since the beginning of the year.