Halsey’s interview made me realize how wild K-pop album sales really are.

This megathread is about the ongoing dispute within HYBE and the management of sub-label ADOR. Substantial news developments may be posted to the subreddit (outside of the Megathreads). Moderators will only approve posts that focus on statements by relevant parties, official representatives, or legal authorities. Unofficial commentary, fandom activities, speculation, or blind items will not be acceptable. Articles or translations should ideally be presented as neutrally as possible. Titles or content that are obviously sensationalized or intended to persuade readers to one perspective will be removed. English-speaking news outlets that have relatively more neutral reporting include Soompi, Yonhap News, and Korea JoongAng Daily. THIS POST MAY BE LOCKED OR UNLOCKED AT VARYING TIMES based on what the moderators are able to manage during their shifts. Please be patient with us while we work to balance keeping up with the queue and our own lives. DISCLAIMER ABOUT SOURCES: We prefer to focus on official statements from companies or other vetted sources. There will be widespread speculation and rumor-heavy articles, but until presented in an official capacity we consider them unsubstantiated. As Mods, all we can do is compile and summarize, but we are not investigators or journalists. Summary of Previous Megathreads ONE and TWO and THREE contains HYBE's audit of ADOR and Min Hee Jin's 1st press conference. FOUR summarized all events up to April 30th, 2024. FIVE and SIX contains potential ADOR embezzlement, MHJ's injunction and hearing, and a letter from the parents of NewJeans. SEVEN and EIGHT and NINE contains MHJ's injunction granted May 30th and remaining ADOR CEO, HYBE replacing ADOR board members, BELIFT LAB's video regarding plagiarism and lawsuit against MHJ. TEN and ELEVEN and TWELVE contains ex-ADOR employee's sexual harassment case, band Shakatak's plagiarism claim, HYBE 2.0 and ADOR restructuring with new CEO Kim Joo Young, MV director drama, the NewJeans livestream, MHJ's 2nd injunction filing and public events/interviews. THIRTEEN and FOURTEEN and FIFTEEN contains an interview with NewJeans' parents, Hanni and CEO Kim Joo Young at the National Assembly, MHJ's reappointment as director, Kim Taeho at the National Assembly, HYBE's Weekly Industry Report leak, the court's dismissal of MHJ's 2nd Injunction, ADOR board's vote against making MHJ's CEO again, NewJeans' certified letter of ultimatum to ADOR, rejection of Hanni's workplace bullying claim by labor ministry, MHJ's resignation from ADOR, and NewJeans' contract termination press conference. SIXTEEN and SEVENTEEN and EIGHTEEN contains ADOR's 26-page response to NewJeans' certified letter, Dispatch's exposé on MHJ's alleged strategy to leave HYBE, ADOR seeking validity of NewJeans member contracts, KMCA/KOSPO statements concerning tampering, the creation of the 'jeanzforfree' Instagram account, visa concerns, Employee B's MHJ defamation mediation failing, Davolink Chairman details, first hearings for Belift Lab and Source Music vs MHJ damages cases, dismissal of former ADOR VP's workplace harassment case against HYBE/ADOR, ADOR's injunction to halt NewJeans ad deals, and NewJeans rebranding to NJZ. MEGATHREAD NINETEEN covered mid-February to early March. Contains: Reports around Hanni's visa concerns and political involvement of National Assembly member Park Ji Won, NJZ parents establishing and posting to their PR Instagram account, the conclusion of three related allegations of 'workplace harassment' with no charges against HYBE/ADOR or ADOR CEO Kim Jooyoung, the joint press conference of 5 major industry organizations regarding tampering and contractual integrity, and the provisional injunction hearing for ADOR's complaint to restrict NJZ's music activities along with new ad deals until contract validity is determined. MEGATHREAD TWENTY covered the rest of March. Contains: The provisional injunction hearing and results two weeks later granting the injunction in ADOR's favor, NewJeans' activities at ComplexCon, NewJeans' filed objection to the injunction ruling and hearing set for early April, progress for Employee B, and general media/articles around the injunction results. MEGATHREAD TWENTY ONE covered all of April. Contains: HYBE's annual shareholders' meeting, the 1st hearing for confirmation of ADOR's contract validity with NewJeans, the hearing for NewJeans' objection to the injunction ruling and subsequent rejection of their objection by the judge one week later, and the 2nd hearing regarding shareholder agreement termination validity between HYBE and MHJ was designated to run jointly along with the case around exercising put/call options. Articles / Timeline 250422 This day marks one year since HYBE launched their audit of Min Hee Jin and ADOR's management. Happy(?) 1st anniversary of the Megathreads! 250502 The 3rd hearing for Min Hee Jin vs. Belift Lab was set to take place but postponed to July 18th at Belift Lab's request. Each side is due to present their arguments/documents regarding plagiarism issues at the next meeting. (Source: Maeil Kyungjae) 250530 We learned that ADOR had filed for 'indirect enforcement' after their injunction was granted and NewJeans performed at ComplexCon back in March (Filed on April 4th according to the statement from NewJeans' representatives linked below). On the 30th, the 52nd Division of the Seoul Central District court further granted this request. The 'indirect enforcement' ruling means that each individual member of NewJeans will be fined 1 billion won (approx. $725,000) if they continue with entertainment activities independent of ADOR, which would be in violation of the injunction. This enforcement with potential fines does NOT apply to any of NewJeans' independent activities between the granting of the injunction and the granting of this 'indirect enforcement'. These fines will only apply to future activities going forward, or at least until rulings with NewJeans' appeal or the main contract validity case changes anything (next hearing on June 5th). (Source: Chosun Biz, MK Sports) The Korea Herald: Court orders NewJeans to pay Ador 1 billion won for each unauthorized activity Discussion Post Korea JoongAng Daily: Court orders NewJeans members to pay ADOR $725,600 for every independent entertainment activity A statement by NewJeans' representatives was made later in the day primarily acknowledging the indirect enforcement ruling, but reiterating that it is temporary and will no longer have an effect if NewJeans win their appeal of the injunction. (Source: Ilgan Sports) The 2nd hearing for Source Music's damages lawsuit against Min Hee Jin took place at the 12th Civil Affairs Division of the Seoul Western District Court. (Quick recap: 1st was January 10th, 2nd was previously scheduled for March 14th, postponed per Source Music's request). Legal representatives were present. Source Music had a 20-minute presentation prepared, but Min Hee Jin's representatives objected to the inclusion of KakaoTalk messages in the presentation. They claimed the messages were illegally obtained and requested the hearing to be closed/private. Source Music denied the messages were obtained illegally, claiming they were gained from company devices with consent. The court went with a temporary compromise to keep the hearing public, but not allow discussion/display of the messages until they were reviewed again. A special hearing to review the messages will take place June 27th. (Source: Sports Today) 250605 The Seoul Central District Court Division 41 held the second hearing for ADOR seeking confirmation of validity for their exclusive contract with NewJeans. Only legal representatives were in attendance. NewJeans' side primarily argued that ADOR had not met their obligations and that their evidence they were preparing to support NewJeans' activities, like finding a new producer, was inadequate. ADOR's side argued that NewJeans' reasons for allegedly terminating their contract continually changed, indicating they are arbitrary and being made up with retroactive hindsight. The issue of some evidence being collected illegally also came up again from NewJeans' side. Judge Jung Hoe-Il specifically inquired if both/either sides were willing to come to an agreement, encouraging them to do so. NewJeans' representatives strongly indicated this was unlikely as the trust in ADOR had completely collapsed. ADOR's representatives indicated they could see negotiating an agreement once the court comes to a final decision. The 3rd hearing was set for July 24th. (Sources: X Sport News, Maeil Kyungjae) 250612 The next hearing regarding the Shareholder Agreement termination and exercising put/call options lawsuits between HYBE and Min Hee Jin was held at the Seoul Central District Court's 31st Division. Arguments from each side mostly re-tread what we've already covered. HYBE's side argued they were justified in ending the shareholder agreement due to the threat Min Hee Jin posed to the company. Min Hee Hin's side argued the timing of the audit/termination did not align purely with that concern and that some KakaoTalk messages and emails were obtained illegally and not admissable as evidence. HYBE also indicated they had a witness to give testimony at the next meeting, which the court accepted. The next hearing with closing arguments, was set for September 11th for both lawsuits. (Sources: Maeil Kyungjae, TV Daily, Sports Today) 250617 Following up from April 16th when NewJeans appealed the court's decision to uphold the injunction and halt on their independent activities, the Seoul High Court reaffirmed the earlier decision. The court rejected NewJeans' appeal. They determined there was no significant change in the material/arguments presented for the appeal and the original decision to grant ADOR's injunction was justified. There was further clarification that the management conflict between HYBE and Min Hee Jin, and her no longer being NewJeans' producer, did not constitute a valid argument for the alleged collapse of trust between ADOR and NewJeans. The group's withdrawal from ADOR is considered arbitrary, that their artistic freedom or activity is not impeded since they are able to do so within their exclusive contract, and that any damages resulting from attempting independent activities are self-inflicted. (Sources: Yonhap News, NewsPim, News 1) The Korea Herald: K-pop High Court rejects NewJeans appeal, upholding ban on independent activities Post Soompi: Seoul High Court Denies NewJeans' Appeal Of Injunction Decision Looking Ahead: June 27: Special hearing for Source Music vs. MHJ to review KakaoTalk messages as evidence July 18: 3rd hearing for Belift Lab vs. MHJ (postponed from May 2nd) July 24: 3rd hearing for ADOR seeking confirmation of validity for their exclusive contract with NewJeans September 11: Next hearing regarding the Shareholder Agreement termination and exercising put/call options lawsuits between HYBE and Min Hee Jin Ongoing Legal Complaints/Investigations: HYBE's report to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) regarding potential insider trading by ADOR management (Korea JoongAng) HYBE's complaint against Min Hee Jin for 'breach of trust' (Yonhap) Belift Lab's complaint against Min Hee Jin for defamation (Soompi) and additionally for business interference (The Korea Herald) SOURCE MUSIC's lawsuit against Min Hee Jin for damages in regards to the disruption of business/defamation of LE SSERAFIM (Korea JoongAng) and additionally regarding alleged false claims by MHJ for the launch strategy of N Team/NewJeans (Soompi) British band Shakatak's plagiarism claim against NewJeans' 'Bubble Gum' (Yonhap) Min Hee Jin and HYBE executives filed reports against each other back-to-back (Soompi and Korea JoongAng) Former ADOR Employee 'B' filed complaint against MHJ in relation to sexual harassment cover-up and workplace mistreatment. (JTBC) MV Director Shin Woo Seok filed a lawsuit against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young and ADOR VP Lee Do Kyung for defamation. (Korea JoongAng) MHJ's lawsuits against Belift Lab's Kim Tae Ho for defamation (Yonhap), HYBE CCO Park Tae Hee and PR Director Cho for breach of duty (Yonhap), and HYBE executives and Dispatch reporters for defamation. (Soompi) (One or both of these might be re-statements of earlier suits.) ADOR's lawsuit to determine validity of their contracts with NewJeans (Soompi) Link back to MEGATHREADS 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 GROUND RULES IN COMMENTS If you have come to this subreddit to discuss anything, you are choosing to participate in a moderated space with rules of conduct enforced by human beings. All users are subject to the discretion of moderators to manage this space even if it's in ways you don't agree with. Do not Insult users, fans, or artists. Don't denigrate a certain demographic of people (age, gender, nationality, etc). NO harassing, threatening, or wishing harm on anyone. Do not incite fanwars, reference old tribal resentments between different fandoms, or assume the worst of fellow users. Do not bring wild conspiracies from somewhere else on social media that have no clear or substantiated sources. Do not accuse other users of being a bot or paid shill. Do not abuse the report button. We report any form of report abuse directly to Reddit Admin. Refrain from linking to or discussing other subreddits. Do not encourage brigading in any way. Allow other subreddits and their mods to run their communities how they see fit. DO mention your sources and any use of AI/machine translation tools for quoting Korean articles. DO take care to link sources responsibly. Seek information sources which are reasonably neutral and are not affiliated with accounts known to insult or hate artists. Keep in mind that Allkpop, TheQoo, PannChoa and similar sites are banned in this subreddit. THE MODS KNOW there will be bots, trolls, bad actors, and oblivious new users coming to the subreddit. We will do what we can to mitigate the impact of them. But you alone are responsible for your own behavior. Express your opinion or arguments without breaking our conduct rules or we will be obligated to remove your comments. submitted by /u/KPOP_MOD [link] [comments]

Ew trump. I do not support any misogynistic, white nationalist, incel, hitler-like (esp. Musk), racists at all and neither does this sub and apparently neither does reddit as a site as a whole. He stands against everything Kpop stands for which is an art form from a formerly colonized people from a country that is rising up against colonialism and hatred. Anyone who comments anything negative to this, or tries to defend that orange guy will be banned permanently. Go somewhere else, we don't want your lower kind here. This is why American women everywhere are going 4b EDIT!!!: 4B 4B4B4B4B4B!! 4B IN THE SOUTH, 4B IN THE NORTH, 4B FROM TEXAS TO ALABAMA, FROM BYU TO COLOMBIA! 4B ALL FIFTY STATES! A CONVICTED PEDO AND FELON IS NOW PRESIDENT SO IF YOU'RE A WOMAN WITH ANY SELF RESPECT 4B, 4B, 4b (ESPCIALLY THE CONSERVATIVES!!!!) submitted by /u/Kpop_Love_Forever [link] [comments]

Hey folks! Over in r/kpop we just posted a new special Town Hall that is focused only on the Flairs we use to help organize our posts based on content categories. Link to r/kpop's 'All About Flairs' Town Hall We included announcements for new flairs here on r/kpoppers and also on r/kpophelp. The following is the section relevant for this subreddit. NEW FLAIRS! Connect - This flair will be used for anything where fans are trying to socially connect with each other. Announcing new K-Pop subreddits or Discords, looking for mutual fans on social media, wanting to meet up at a concert, seeking fans in a region to form a dance group, networking for a fan project, announcing a K-Pop night at a club, etc. Research - Academic surveys related to K-Pop or fandom topics. We'll keep an eye on these new flairs to see if they create any confusion or need adjustments. Let us know if you have any thoughts, concerns, or questions! submitted by /u/alleybetwixt [link] [comments]

I'm a 41yo male. Former Marine Infantry covered in tattoos (3 are Twice, ITZY and Blink). Bald head with a beard. Been a hardcore STAN since before 1st Gen. Multiple attends at Twice and ITZY concerts and a few older groups. Was even in Korea while Sixteen was airing. I'm really loving what newer groups are doing these days and I'm thinking about attending newer Gen concerts (ILLIT), but I'm thinking it might be a bit creepy as their fans are mostly teens. Should I not worry about it and solo attend like I did for most of the Twice and ITZY concerts, or should I bring someone? I never had to worry about this for Twice or ITZY as most of their fans are older. Thoughts? 💕 submitted by /u/JaySwizzle1984 [link] [comments]

I wanna see what duo / ship you guys think will serve in these poses !! submitted by /u/Ssqpphirc1111 [link] [comments]

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I drew this Yoohyeon on a card for a photocard trade and then I was sad when I had to send her away lol submitted by /u/Roseottoart [link] [comments]

I don't know if anyone else feels it, but lately it seems that K-pop's visuals lost some of the strength they had years ago. In the old days, when an idol was presented as the group's “visual”, it really had an impact - they were different, they had a unique aura and ended up in memory. Nowadays, honestly, it seems that everyone follows the same pattern: same perfect skin, same jaw line, told nose, large eyes with lenses, hair dyed in the same colors of fashion ... almost as if they came out of an "idol factory". Of course everyone is still beautiful, but that "memorable factor" is missing. Take examples of 2nd and 3rd generation - many visuals are still cited to this day because they had something remarkable. Now it is difficult to distinguish a specific “look”, as everyone is similar. It is not only a matter of surgery or makeup, but of repeated aesthetic standard. Is it because the industry focuses too much on uniformity? Or is it that we, as an audience, are no longer astonished by beauty on the same level? I wanted to know if anyone else feels this way: do visuals still have an impact on you, or do they also seem increasingly "same"? submitted by /u/Sensitive-Wing1066 [link] [comments]

I haven’t posted here before, so forgive me if I ramble or anything. I’m hesitant to post about this in my usual Subs, so I wanted to hear people’s opinions in a more general space as I believe this topic should be discussed more widely. I want to discuss the concept of an idol’s right to privacy during their mandatory military service. To make it brief: I believe that any content of an idol in military should be distributed by the idol themselves or by official channels (fansites can be debatable in this regard), and that fans finding this content through questionable means should not be normalised. I find fans seeking out content of them during their service to be disturbing, especially when they act like they’re doing the fandom a service. I am extremely anti-parasocial, and I believe the act of seeking out content of an idol you like during their service can very easily border on stalking. For example, I’ve seen people find these idol’s friend’s accounts, family accounts, private accounts, finding out what their position is, what branch they’re apart of, etc, or even showing up to events, sometimes when the idol themselves urge people not to in order to make room for friends and family (this is something fansites in particular are very guilty of). I believe that doing all this for a few pixels of your favs is disturbing and should not be as normalised as it is in K-pop fandoms. I think many people in these fandoms feel a sense of possessiveness over their biases or groups, and that can lead to some people feeling justified when seeking out this content through these means. I wish this wasn’t so normalised in K-pop fandoms. I feel like these idols get so little privacy, and that invading that during a period that, while not ideal, still shouldn’t need to be broadcasted to fans. Fans do not have the right to see or know what their favs are doing 24/7. This is just my opinion, I don’t want to come off too aggressive but I feel quite strongly about this. I’d be interested to see what other people think submitted by /u/taiyomoyo [link] [comments]

Name a group or singer where the song is so bad and their dress it terrible. It leaves you scratching your head as to why they are famous and how did they get fans. Lol. 😂 I was watching a k pop show and there was one artist I couldn’t stand. The style as bad and the voice was bad. submitted by /u/NariYun [link] [comments]

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everyone is overworked and the put out reflects that, is not possible to do that many albums in so little time. comeback every six months when there’s nothing to come back from bc they never left is not right. the quality of music is simply not up to standard, same as the aesthetic and concept. they’re all overproduced and have very little to express for themselves generally, discographics will take anyone, wring them out and toss them in about 4-5 years. even lame ass pop stars that only do the song of the summer in the west are treated better, at least they get some degree of money. the issue is fans. esp korean but also ww, i’ve seen girls saying “they miss them” when they were putting out behind the scenes and talking videos every other week. that’s insane. metallica released their last album after 7 years. average pop is 2-3 years. this is crazy. people faint, brun out, develop eating disorders, anxiety disorders. and again, the content is very hit and miss! bc they focus on quantity! anyways that’s just the industry i guess i come from another viewpoint both geographically and in music genre /: submitted by /u/No_Bar1462 [link] [comments]

So, are we going to try to remove everything we don't like? Did I slander anyone here? No? Did I create a hate train? No.Did I post something that would endanger someone's life? No.Come on, guys, expressing facts with proven documents should not be a reason for a ban. This is really a pathetic and stupid situation. 🙄 submitted by /u/GooseSignificant8293 [link] [comments]

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Honestly, IVE's SHow what I have world tour was the best I've ever been to(i might be biased cuz they're one of my ult groups) but ngl, there was no super chaotic crowds, and no tremondous smell of body oder.I was enjoying my self so much, waving my lightstick and singing along to every song. submitted by /u/Particular-Rain116 [link] [comments]

i happen to have albums and songs i like more and some i like less. same with concepts and outfits. i get deleted in any subreddit. there is never a discussion. why??????? nobody likes kpop in my life so it's either the intern or nothing. but all communities (reddit, tumblr) are ONLY for saying how amazing the people are AT ALL TIMES. they can be dressed in blackface kicking a puppy and you CANNOT do anything. except if they smoke a cigarette or have premarital sex, then you actually irl kill them. before the posts are deleted members are fine with talking with me in polite conversation explaining and chatting (polite, respectful, oh both sides). submitted by /u/No_Bar1462 [link] [comments]