There was a reason for the suspicion of copying ”ILLIT's NewJeans”... 11 labels under HYBE alone

As the battle between HYBE and ADOR's representative Min Hee-jin continues, it is argued that the cause of this conflict can be found in the control structure of HYBE, which has a multi-label system.

　The multi-label system results in exclusive productions taking precedence over collaboration among labels, which follows the parent company's position of having to reproduce similar content to ensure stable sales.

　It was pointed out that the allegation raised by Representative Min that the girl group "ILLIT" copied the girl group "NewJeans" was reduced to an issue of similarity between the labels, with the parent company, HYBE, putting its control structure ahead of the labels.

　At a symposium held today at the Franciscan Education Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the theme of "How do we look at the HYBE-ADOR management rights dispute?" The problem that led to the current dispute is that the labels are vertically affiliated within the management control structure of HYBE, and there is no collaboration among the labels to maintain the exclusive independence of the content.

　HYBE operates 11 labels under its umbrella, emphasizing its "multi-label structure. Each of the subsidiary labels is in charge of content production, while public relations and legal affairs are handled by the parent company, HYBE.

　ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin pointed out the problems with HYBE's multi-label system at a press conference held last month, including the fact that HYBE's new girl group, "ILLIT," claimed to have copied the concept of "NewJeans," bringing the conflict between the labels to the surface.

　Co-president Lee pointed out that the labels are in competition with each other, so they have become more accustomed to exclusive production rather than collaboration within the same parent company. He said that the process of reproducing similar content is essential even for the parent company, which must generate stable sales.

　In this situation, he said, HYBE was able to reduce the issue of plagiarism to a simple "similarity that can appear between labels" because of its control structure that follows the labels vertically.

　He noted that "HYBE's vertical affiliations do not emphasize a strong hierarchical order in content production," but "they have created a control structure that makes it virtually impossible for the labels under their control to be contractually independent."

　He also asserted that a system in which content production and management are split up is unstable and can be dismantled at any time. In particular, he analyzed that the more successful a label's content is, the stronger the centrifugal force that drives the label to break away from the control structure operates.

　He stated that "HYBE is optimistic about the dismissal of ADOR and Min Hee-jin by accusing them and judging that they are in control of the management," and that "the logic is to neutralize the propaganda of Representative Min, who claims content priority and exclusive licensing authority, with cold and substantial management control." He also claimed that "the logic is to neutralize Min's propaganda claiming content priority and exclusive licensing authority through cold and substantial management control."

　Lee further pointed out that the longer the dispute drags on, the more the victims will be NewJeans and the label's musicians and artists' fans, who are preparing for their comeback. He also pointed out that unnecessary management disputes are an obstacle to the development of K-pop.

　He stated that this is a time when reflection is more important than catastrophe, and he hopes that there will be a forum to consider what needs to be improved and what needs to be resolved in order to form a sustainable environment for K-pop.

　In the ensuing discussion, Attorney Lee, Minister of Finance and Economy, laid out the legal issues surrounding the dispute between HYBE and ADOR.

　Attorney Lee predicted that although ADOR's board of directors has refused to convene the meeting due to the unfairness of the dismissal of the representative director, the court is likely to recognize HYBE's authority to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting as a major shareholder.

　On the 30th of last month, at the hearing date for the application for permission to call an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held at the Seoul Western District Court, Representative Director Min also announced that the board of directors would convene a meeting until the 10th of this month, and that an extraordinary shareholders' meeting would be held until the end of this month.

　Attorney Lee stated, "Whether or not the dismissal of the representative director is justified is an issue that must be dealt with in due course," and analyzed, "There is no authority to refuse to convene a general shareholders' meeting on the grounds that the dismissal is unjustified."

　Lee Jeong-im, an outpatient professor at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, pointed out that expressions such as "father of the Korean boy group BTS (Bulletproof Boys' Troupe)" and "mother of 'NewJeans'" that refer to planning companies and idols as family members should not remain simple metaphors.

　He said that "planning companies always talk about how much energy they put into nurturing their idols," and that "however, when problems like this arise, we need a diverse analysis of whether they are really carrying out the role of a parent."