HYBE Stock Plummets Amidst Feud with ADOR CEO

South Korea's entertainment industry is embroiled in a conflict between ADOR's CEO, Min Hee Jin, and its parent company, HYBE.

The dispute began with HYBE's announcement on Monday, April 22, 2024, of a management audit of ADOR. HYBE suspected Min Hee Jin of planning to make ADOR independent.

HYBE Corporation holds 80% of ADOR's shares, while Min Hee Jin and ADOR's management hold the remaining 20%.

Min Hee Jin, however, denies all of HYBE's accusations, including the findings of the company's audit.

“I joined Big Hit Entertainment as chief brand officer, not Source Music. I never tried to take over ADOR,” Min Hee Jin stated in a press conference, as reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

The feud appears to be negatively impacting HYBE Corporation's share price.

According to Yahoo Finance, HYBE Corporation's share price on the KSE closed at 201,500 Korean won on Friday, April 26, 2024. This is a decrease of 10,500 points or 4.45% from the previous day.

This year, HYBE Corporation's share price reached its highest level on January 11, 2024, at 253,000 Korean won. It has since fluctuated and shown a downward trend in recent days.

In addition to the ADOR management audit results, Min Hee Jin also accuses HYBE of plagiarism regarding her debuted girl group, NewJeans.

She claims that HYBE CEO, Bang Si Hyuk, copied NewJeans' concept and debuted ILLIT under BeLift Lab.