There will never be another bp-twice-red velvet holy trinity in kpop

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]

WM Entertainment CEO Lee Wonmin has stepped down from his position after 17 years. It's reported that their parent company, RBW, fired CEO Lee in early August. His sudden dismissal reportedly caused significant internal chaos with key executives leaving the company one after another. After Lee's dismissal, RBW co-CEO, KimJinWook, took over as his successor. submitted by /u/MasterHospital [link] [comments]

So many solo stans acting like Jung Kook is the only Calvin Klein global ambassador. They need to get their heads out of their asses and accept the fact that Calvin Klein has a plethora of global ambassadors and a plethora of models that they use. They act like Calvin Klein revolves around Jung Kook. Harsh reality kids, but no they don’t. They did just fine for the 18 months he was in military and they’ll do just fine whenever they stop their deal. I’m all for supporting Jung Kook and understand the excitement of him attending the Calvin Klein show, but it’s completely asinine, delusional & disrespectful to erase all the other global ambassadors that work for Calvin Klein - Calvin Klein has never put all its eggs in one basket. Some fans level of ignorance and arrogance is astounding. And as typical, they’re a bunch of hypocritical idiots who make false claims about respecting Jung Kook’s privacy but then share stalker videos of him arriving in NYC. STFU. submitted by /u/redstarseven [link] [comments]

When I describe someone who is feminine and elegant but still has that warm and approachable vibe, who do you think of? I can name a few korean actresses, but I can't name any idols who have this vibe. Think Bae Suzy and Lee Sungkyung. For me, both actresses are drop-dead gorgeous. They have that elegant vibe to them, but they're still approachable (imo). They can pull off feminine and elegant styling, but they still seem warm and approachable to me. Kind of a girl-next-door vibe. Are there any idols who come to mind with this description? submitted by /u/Shoddy_Pay4557 [link] [comments]

This started as a kpophelp because my main question is "How does Kpop twitter work?" but it got kinda fleshed out and may be more of a discussion topic. This is a pretty open-ended question, just share / dump your opinions. Reddit is mostly based on subs/mods formula whereas Twitter is no mods, but yes follows, and more extensive use of blocks. It's why blocks always feel weird on Reddit, because most of the work is done by subs, but I guess you have to block left and right on Twitter since there's no other helper effect. Discord is growing to rival reddit more I guess? But they're harder to advertise than reddits, slightly more secretive / less bot crawled. Still highly moderated like reddits. Twitter is the main kpop forum to my knowledge. Despite some U.S. people's best hopes, there was basically zero kpop migration to Bluesky. And likewise, I hate to ask this, but does a certain rightwing bias that permeated twitter post-2020s happen on kpop twitter too? Do you tend to follow main accounts or influencer-types (say 10k+ follows)? On reddit I'm mostly reading opinions by other redditors, so I wonder how that translates on Twitter Is there anything like a kpop scene on YT or Tiktok? It could be cool, I mean, I mostly follow kpop on youtube, why not discuss there. Are there any kpop substacks LOL On the fandom war / hate topics How do people hate you on twitter? Like if you're wrong / super out of the mainstream on reddit you mainly get downvoted and maybe banned depending on what you did and the sub. I've heard Twitter is more, uh, dox prone. Fan wars and group feuds -- how do those work? like does some groupA stan pop over on groupB's twitter and trash talk them? or do you start some novel anti-groupB account and start posting to it? When rumors get steam or hate trains form how do they originate and get steam? Like okay some anti- group-I-stan talking points on Reddit almost feel like they've germinated over time. "I went to their concert, here are the things they did wrong which are the same as in someone else's previous post." Are these planned at some secret anti meeting or something lol submitted by /u/abyssazaur [link] [comments]

This song is so... I shake my head in disappointment anytime I'm reminded that they didn't make this song a little longer and make it one of their comeback songs. Like do y'all hear the beat?? submitted by /u/Due_Improvement_5699 [link] [comments]

I understand that Stray Kids, TXT, Enhypen and Ateez are considered the biggest. Though it made me wonder what are considered to be the second tier and the mid tier. What groups are considered as the second tier or mid tier 4th Gen boy groups? To me second tier has strong album sales and streams and do decently sized tours but not quite the heights or K-pop mainstream impact and recognition of the big 4 groups. While I think of mid tier as any group over a 100k album album and streams in that 100,000s of thousands range. How would you define the tiers and what are the groups? submitted by /u/ARG_obesessed [link] [comments]

Hi! I’m looking to put together a Canada-based girl group inspired by global pop/K-pop acts like Katseye. The idea is to start as a small team (3–5 people) doing covers—singing, dancing, —and posting regularly on social media platforms. From there, we can train together (online or in-person if possible), build a group identity, write our own material, and eventually audition for global projects or agencies. Looking for: Female, 18–25 (flexible if you’re passionate) Based in Canada (local is a bonus, but online collab works too) Into singing, dancing, rapping, or all-round performance Willing to practice and post content consistently If you’re interested, please send a DM to connect further. Looking forward to making something amazing together ✨ submitted by /u/Used_Throat6427 [link] [comments]

For me, I think it was the entirety of Minnie’s solo album. Blind Eyes Red & Cherry Sky had such strong potential and deserved to make more noise. What songs do you think deserved more attention than they initially received? submitted by /u/Zealousideal-Cap2725 [link] [comments]

I've been seeing (mainly on tiktok) some people """""editing"""" their photos with their idols as a trend, using generative AI. I feel like this is INSANELY disrespectful. Not "oh my god it's just a trend!!!" it's not?????? Feeding their faces, >your own too< to AI isn't a good idea. As a victim of deepfakes/AI editing I must say that even if it starts as harmful as "let me do them hugging me!!!!" it can and WILL feed shady stuff even if it's not your intentional. Unfortunately, human misuse of AI is happening a LOT – and as a comp sci student myself, I include this kind of usage into "misuse" too, not mentioning that you're using images of other people without their consent. I can't see it as "just a trend", really. submitted by /u/glitter_I [link] [comments]

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Hey everyone! I’m looking for songs that have the same kind of alive, sparkling, youthful energy as: Firework by &TEAM Under the Skin by &TEAM Thursday’s Child Has Far to Go by TXT The type of songs that feel like watching fireworks or crackers explode in the night sky where the sound itself feels like a moment of aliveness. Would love to hear any recommendations with that uplifting, emotional, “I’m alive right now” vibe! submitted by /u/tulipslilly [link] [comments]

This question came to my mind when I opened my new SKZ Karma albums and was a little disappointed that you only get 1 random pc (depends on the album and +1 for POB and or limited version). So I'd say 2 to 3 PCs per album is totally fine and perfect in my opinion. If you have a small group with about 5 or less members I'd say 2 PCs is a good amount. If you have a bigger group with around 8 members I'd definitely say more than 3 PCs is a good amount. Maybe make a 4th unit PC or so. And anything higher than 8 members should definitely get 4 to 5 PCs. Or is that too much? 😅 On the other hand - a solo artist, I'm totally fine with only getting 1 PC per album. Some solo albums I own tend to have more PCs in it than the actual albums of the groups - so that's shocking. What do you think? (This question is also only for the random PCs since some albums tend to have something like trading cards, special cards or so where you get almost a full set of the members or just a group photo - but the pictures on the cards are always the same) submitted by /u/vdrawer [link] [comments]

Time for some fun. Roast your favorite idol in one line only. Make it funny, clever, or absurd. But don’t be mean-spirited. I’ll start: ( I stan a lot of groups so I'll go for ults ) RM : RM’s deep thoughts are just him wondering where he left his hoodie. Scoups : He calls himself a leader, but half the time he looks like he lost his own group. I don't think these sound like roasts. But,... Whatever. Try your best redditors! submitted by /u/Anonymousdepresser [link] [comments]

now I want that pin too... submitted by /u/pinkyfroggyy [link] [comments]