HYBE vs Min Heejin, 1275 articles in just 9 days... Why is this drawing the attention of Koreans?

The conflict between HYBE and Min Hee-jin, CEO of its subsidiary label ADOR, came to light on the 22nd of last month. From that day until the 30th of the same month, there were about 1,275 related articles (B.
The first-ever internal conflict in the K-pop industry has become a topic of interest for the entire Korean nation. The current situation has been a battle for capital, which began with a "seizure of management rights," and has been plagued by issues of generation and gender.
The conflict has become so intertwined that it goes beyond the core of the conflict and various perspectives and analyses from the public are becoming mixed up, spreading one after the other like waves.
Looking at the current state of the K-POP industry, which has become a global genre, British finance
The Chart Times, in an article titled, "In the face of K-pop's patriarchy, star producers capture the imagination of Korean women," addressed the conflict between HYBE and CEO Min as a gender issue.
■ HYBE VS Min Hee Jin, the timeline of the incident The conflict between HYBE and ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin was first revealed on the 22nd of last month.
A lot of things happened in the two weeks that followed. On April 22nd, it was revealed that HYBE was being seized by ADOR's management team, including CEO Min Hee-jin.
The next day, CEO Min's rebuttal came out. On the 23rd of that month, CEO Min announced that he would be leaving BELIFT, another label under HYBE.
The girl group "ILLIT" belonging to LAB raised the issue of copying the girl group "NewJeans",
Meanwhile, NewJeans fans, the Bunnies, have been posting comments such as, "We support NewJeans, which is under HYBE's management," and "Min Hee-ji
On the following day, 25th, HYBE announced the interim results of ADOR's audit, stating that it could be interpreted as a "seizure of management rights."
In particular, HYBE CEO Min Hee-jin said in a meeting with management, "We are preparing ways to pressure HYBE to sell its shares in ADOR.
The transcript also included action plans such as "preparing for May's public outcry" and "emptying ADOR and taking them out."
In the afternoon, a complaint was filed against CEO Min and Vice CEO A for alleged professional breach of trust. On the same day, CEO Min held a lengthy 135-minute press conference, which was full of abusive, vulgar and unkind language.
In a KakaoTalk message, Min revealed that she was involved in the process of joining HYBE and debuting NewJeans.
Through a collaboration between Sihyuk, Source Music and HYBE, they decided to debut "HYBE's first girl group" and "Min Heejin's girl group", with Minzy as the main character.
"But contrary to what was promised, LE SSERAFIM became HYBE's first girl group," he said.
Following Min's press conference, public opinion was shaken and the two entered into a full-scale battle of the truth. The day after the press conference, HYBE released a 12-item summary of Min's press conference.
In particular, CEO Min revealed the false accusation, "Due to the dispute between Source Music and CEO Min, the debut schedule of 'New Jeans' was delayed and 'LE
"SSERAFIM" will debut first," they countered, "The two groups debuted one after the other, so we set up separate promotional periods."
Initially, HYBE requested ADOR to hold a board meeting on April 30th, but CEO Min's side did not respond, so they met through a court hearing on the 30th. ADOR's side eventually held a board meeting until May 10th.
, and announced that they would hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders by the end of May. After that, during the process of renegotiating the contract between shareholders, CEO Min said, "I requested a 30-fold increase in the putback option," and
It was revealed that "Song Hyun-soo demanded the right to terminate the exclusive contract with the representative of the company," and some analyzed that this could be seen as evidence of breach of trust.
If the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders is held as scheduled, HYBE will acquire ADOR.
With an 80% stake, Min's dismissal is considered certain. In this case, the key is what happens after the dismissal. Depending on whether the legitimacy of Min's dismissal is established, the remaining term of the board of directors may be filled.
This will allow the government to determine whether a justifiable reason for dismissal is breach of trust or a breach of confidentiality obligations in the shareholders' agreement.
■ A big twist after Min Hee-jin's press conference...Surge in interest in "NewJeans"
In the course of this series of conflicts, the public's reaction changed after Min's press conference.
Min's press conference, in which he clearly revealed his identity in a straightforward manner, saying, "This is who I am," was an example of something unprecedented that completely broke away from existing formats.
On this day, before clarifying the core issue of the conflict, the allegations of "seizing management rights," CEO Min stated that she had experienced all the disadvantages at HYBE and that as a female employee,
He mentioned the social problems he had experienced. It was the public that was moved by the words of Chairman Min, who was full of insults and vulgar language that had nothing to do with the issues at stake.
Many female office workers were united in their views on the sections, "Should we drink or play golf?" and "This is how dirty a woman's social life is."
For this reason, British media reported that Min was subjected to abusive language towards HYBE executives at a press conference last week.
He pointed out that the criticism of male bosses is finding resonance in South Korea, where female executives account for 6% of the 100 largest companies.
Since Min's press conference, the conflict between HYBE and the company has expanded in all areas, including society, the economy, and culture.
A source with over 20 years of experience in the music industry said, "Min Hee-jin is a creator who is very good at reading into the public's psychology.
"She was not a model, but an ordinary Korean woman and office worker, and just venting her frustrations made everything she said more persuasive," said Min.
"If you want to come at me, don't say this or that. Come at me one-on-one." Her statement was met with criticism online, with people calling her "true hip-hop."
Heejin has been hailed as the top of Korean hip-hop. The cap and T-shirt she wore at the press conference have already sold out in all sizes.
"NewJeans" is already the best girl group of the fourth generation, and the current conflict has caused public disapproval of "NewJeans".
Interest in the matter has only intensified. In particular, since more than half of the members are still in their teens, there is considerable concern and worry directed at the members who have been caught up in the adult quarrel.
The music video for "Bubble Gum," the first song from "New Jeans," which has been released and has recorded 25 million hits, contains lines such as "We'll protect you," "Don't get hurt," and "
"I hope she will do music again." This music video was ranked 1st in the latest YouTube charts (April 26th to May 2nd) in Korea's popular music videos of the week and popular songs.
It also ranked second and fifth in YouTube's global weekly popular music videos and songs.