HYBE Under Fire: Labor Violation Complaints Involving NewJeans and Industry Backlash Over Leaked Document
According to “Women’s News”, The Ministry of Employment and Labor confirmed it had received complaints from fans and advocacy groups alleging that HYBE and ADOR breached labor laws, specifically workplace harassment regulations.
The complaint filed with the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office involves NewJeans’ recent live broadcast, where the members disclosed incidents of neglect towards member Hanni. During the broadcast, the group expressed a wish for former CEO Min Hee-jin’s return and appealed to HYBE to restore ADOR’s management structure by September 25. A representative from the Ministry’s customer service center stated, “As of September 13, over 100 complaints have been filed with keywords like ‘ADOR’ and ‘NewJeans.’”
Fan A who filed a complaint noted the lack of protective legislation for underage idols in South Korea, hoping this case could prompt meaningful change. A labor inspector informed A that the complaint was officially accepted and that the investigation would proceed as per protocol.
Labor activists, such as those from the civic group Workplace Gapjil 119, emphasized that NewJeans members, being under an exclusive contract and performing work under agency supervision, should be considered employees under the Labor Standards Act, thus protected from workplace harassment.
HYBE, however, is facing a second, equally significant controversy within the K-Pop industry due to an internal document leaked during an audit. This document reportedly contained disparaging remarks about competing K-Pop artists, agencies, and fandoms. The revelations ignited industry outrage, with accusations that HYBE was belittling the entire K-Pop industry. Although CEO Lee Jae-sang issued an apology, claiming he contacted affected agencies, sources state no apologies were actually received, fueling industry frustration.
The document’s content has reportedly led to a growing industry sentiment against collaborating with HYBE, as rival agencies seek to protect their artists from potential disrespect in the future. The absence of any further statements from HYBE or its chairman, Bang Si-hyuk, who is alleged to have approved the creation and distribution of the document, has only deepened the mistrust and speculation surrounding HYBE’s role in the scandal.
HYBE now faces significant pressure on multiple fronts, addressing allegations of labor law violations while simultaneously dealing with an industry-wide backlash that could threaten its standing and relationships within the K-Pop community.
Source: WomenNews, KrB