Stray Kids’ Seungmin Makes Heartfelt Donation On His Birthday

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]

If English gives you “haha,” Korean gives you a whole laugh palette—ㅎㅎㅎ, ㅋㅋㅋ, 푸하하, 키득키득. If English writes “knock knock,” Korean choreographs your knuckles. And if a children’s song about a mountain rabbit needs to feel tender instead of athletic, Korean doesn’t reach for an adjective; it swaps a single vowel color and suddenly the rabbit hops kkangchong-kkangchong, not kkeongchung-kkeongchung. This is the secret engine of K-culture’s emotional bite: an everyday toolkit of onomatopoeia (의성어) and mimetic words (의태어) supercharged by Hangul’s design. I wrote an article explaining Onomatopoeic and Mimetic Words (의성어-의태어) and how they are used in Korean. I hope you enjoy! https://kpopnews.world/insight-articles/Korean-onomatopoeia20250826.html submitted by /u/Nicklee0345 [link] [comments]

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As a Black person, I've forgiven them, but I just can't go on Spotify and search for their songs, and if I do, I won't listen to them with as much emotion as before. I can say that really discouraged me, and that's... sad because they were the only girl group I was starting to follow closely. submitted by /u/VFLOWERAL-MININDay [link] [comments]

I don't think many people must have heard this song but please give it a listen i too just mistakenly heard this in my gym... In my opinion it's such a cool song please let me know what are your thoughts. I think this just went under the rug it really deserved so much more... (I think it's even better than their title track TILT) submitted by /u/ish8n [link] [comments]

I am listening to all the singles, EPs and albums by k pop and K-pop-adjacent girl groups on a tier list. Including: Original Japanese singles/albums Subunits and solos under the group profile OSTs* Not including: Solos and subunits outside of group albums Any covers, remastered versions or remixes First slide(s) will be a ranking of the group, and the second slide(s) will be a ranking in the context of other girl groups. These are just my personal opinions; music is subjective! What I like and how I rank these songs may not line up with your own tastes. I won’t take into account scandals, popularity, or other outside factors. Just the music itself. For T, I listened to the following groups: Tahiti, T-ARA, The Ark, Tri.be, TripleS, and TWICE These were alot of groups with longer discographies, so it definitely took a minute but I did listen to each top to bottom For TRI.BE, The Ark, and Tahiti, these groups just didn’t click with me at all. I went through their songs expecting to find at least one hidden gem, but nothing stood out. Their discographies felt either forgettable or flat, and I couldn’t connect with any of it. Because of that, I’m not making a tier list here; for me, all of their tracks fall to the bottom. For T-ARA, a lot of their songs are good, but like with Wonder Girls, the 2nd gen sound as a whole just feels too dated for me. I think most of their listeners are people who first got into K-pop during that time and grew attached to the style, but that’s just not me. I can recognize that their music is solid and influential, but it isn’t something I’d go back to listen to as a late 3rd gen stan. Still, they’ve got some standout tracks worth noting, even if their overall sound doesn’t suit my taste. There were also some songs not on the tierlist, but I gave them a listen as well. Top 3: Reload Real Love ORGR Bottom 3: Bo Peep Bo Peep Tic Tic Toc One & One TripleS has a lot of good quality tracks, but their discography can be tough to sit through because almost every track leans on some variation of “la la la la,” which may be fine if you have a handful of their songs scattered through your playlist, but listening to it all at once gets old fast. I’d heard a lot of rave and good things about their discography, so I was expecting to find another top-tier song, and I was a bit disappointed when that didn’t happen. That said, their overall sound is really interesting; the best way I can describe it is like a love child between LOONA and NewJeans. Generation is still their peak for me; they haven’t outdone it yet. Top 3: Generation The Baddest Dimention Bottom 3: Colorful New Look Inner Dance Twice was the group I knew the most songs from going in, so even though they’ve got the biggest discography so far, it was actually quicker to rank. They’re for sure elite tier; I play so many of their songs regularly, and even the ones that aren’t really my taste (What Is Love, Heart Shaker) I still revisit once in a while. The only right place to put a group this consistently good is at the top. I started stanning during Fancy era, with Feel Special as my first comeback, so I definitely prefer “mature TWICE” over “cute TWICE.” You can really tell how many girl groups have since taken inspiration from them. Most of their pre-Fancy b-sides aren’t my style, and while their Japanese releases get a lot of hype, I don’t connect with much of them either. Overall, even though twice have a lot of misses for me, they also have a lot of S tier songs that continue to be in my most replayed so they don't belong anywhere other than the top. Their This is For album grew on me alot too. I already loved it at first listen, but now it's top 10 kpop albums OAT. Top 3 Love Foolish Icon Make Me Go Bottom 3: Precious Love Woohoo Tuk Tuk (Cheer Up album is their weakest Korean work in my opinion) I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on these group's music as well! submitted by /u/Armys_blink_once [link] [comments]

I am curious about what the best combined solo discographies are from groups. I would think that BTS or Blackpink has had the most commercially successful discography. (Not sure about BIGBANG) BTS probably for Kpop fans, Blackpink for mainstream people. But what other groups have really good combined solo discographies?! I think Iz*One is a really good shout for this. Some solid stuff. And you never know if Yujin or Wonyoung is going to add some heat to their discography. submitted by /u/SpecSlayerSC [link] [comments]

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Idk why but I think Nayeon and Sana are probably the first who would be attacked by zomies LOL more heavy on Sana though submitted by /u/hearts4him_ [link] [comments]

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Not like a fandom inside joke, but a joke you might’ve made up yourself. 😅 Here’s mine: I asked Seventeen what the 15th letter of the alphabet is. They said, “O, O, O (yeah yeah), O, O O” submitted by /u/CeCeAlexus [link] [comments]

The use of AI in K-pop is exploding everyday, it's really concerning. We've gone from subtle AI usage in music videos to entire project made by a machine. First it was Blackpink's "Jump", now Aespa's "Rich Man"(Yellow Claw Remix) Music Video took it too another level. We have seen AI usage on their other music videos before, but not to this level. I've also hated fanmade youtube videos of AI using an artist's voice for a cover song of an another artist's songs. If people so badly want to listen cover songs by their favourite artists, they should request the artists when they go live. Every time fans feed an artist's voice to AI, it gets smarter, they can easily recognise their voices. It gives ways for haters to create fake, career destroying videos of idols. Now, the big agencies are promoting this method, which is insane. If big companies normalize AI production, it creates a domino effect across the industry. Small company will follow suit, this isn't just an artistic issue, it's a threat to people's jobs especially low pay workers. Why pay directors, camera crew, and stylists when an AI can do all of it? This trend devalues not only the artists but all the human talent that makes K-pop possible. People outside this kpop sphere, devalues the kpop artists by calling them "manufactured", this AI trend will prove them right. submitted by /u/Plastic-Bag-2517 [link] [comments]

Basically what the title says, I’ve been thinking a lot about this so I thought I’d share my list and ask others for who they think are older/newer counterparts! This is created based on general vibes as well as concept and music! TXT - Shinee ILLIT - Kara Kep1er - SNSD Le Sserafim - After School NMIXX - Mamamoo IVE - 9muses aespa - 2ne1 Stayc - Twice Rescene - Gfriend Billlie - Red Velvet idle - 4Minute Itzy - T-ARA Everglow - Blackpink Boynextdoor - Teen Top ZB1 - Exo Enhypen - VIXX ablume - Lovelyz Meovv - f(x) Hearts2Hearts - Apink Say My Name - IOI izna - Exid submitted by /u/hiekachu [link] [comments]

I'll put my first bets in. These three — absolutely no fucking way. Jin's the type to sacrifice J-Hope to keep himself alive. submitted by /u/Calm-Comfortable2659 [link] [comments]