K-pop giant HYBE shares take another hit as dispute with NewJeans label drags on

Ador Fontech

26/04/2024 05:33

By Hyunsu Yim
       SEOUL, April 26 (Reuters) - A South Korean music
executive credited with creating popular K-pop group NewJeans
denied allegations that she was trying to break her label away
from HYBE, home to global sensation BTS, sending the K-pop
giant's shares tumbling on Friday.
    The internal dispute at HYBE, South Korea's biggest music
firm, has wiped over 12% off its share price since it became
public and put a damper on expectations for an upturn from new
releases by NewJeans, as well as the return of some BTS members
from mandatory military service. 
    HYBE shares fell more than 5% on Friday morning, while the
benchmark KOSPI index rose more than 1% in early trading.
    On Thursday, Min Hee-jin, CEO of the ADOR label majority
owned by HYBE  352820.KS , told a live-streamed event watched by
millions of K-pop fans that she was not plotting to break away
from the company, denying HYBE claims that she was leading plans
to go independent. 
    HYBE launched an internal probe earlier this week, and has
accused Min of breach of trust.
    "I'm sorry for causing worry to the fans, artists, and the
staff over what happened during the process of upgrading the
multi-label (system)," HYBE CEO Park Ji-won said in a statement.
    Min and other top executives own a 20 percent stake in ADOR
while HYBE owns an 80 percent stake.
   The dispute is the latest to hit South Korea's lucrative
K-pop industry.
    Last year, the takeover of SM Entertainment by South Korean
social media giant Kakao, triggered an internal battle over
management, and Fifty Fifty, a girl group behind TikTok hit
"Cupid," also saw their career fizzle out following a legal
battle with its agency Attrakt in 2023.
    

 (Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Josh Smith and Miral
Fahmy)
 ((Hyunsu.Yim@thomsonreuters.com;))