K-pop's catastrophic year

2024 has largely been a scandal-ridden and unsavory year for K-pop, involving some of the biggest stars and agencies.

- Jan Lee Correspondent

Chief of these is the ugly ongoing feud between K-pop giant Hybe and music producer Min Hee-jin (above), the former chief executive of Hybe's subsidiary label Ador, which manages the hit girl group NewJeans.

The quintet took the side of Ms Min, who was fired from her role, and have since fallen out with Ador, unilaterally terminating their contract with the label on Nov 28.

NewJeans member Hanni said at a press conference on the same day that Ador has no intention of protecting the group. "Staying at the agency will only prolong our psychological pain and waste our time."

Ador has refuted the group's claims and a protracted legal battle lies ahead.

Making their debut in 2022, NewJeans came out of the gate strong with viral hits like Hype Boy (2022) and OMG (2023), but their musical releases have stalled in the wake of the drama.

The feud has even fueled a sidebar scandal. After Hanni testified in South Korea's parliament about being discriminated against at the workplace by Hybe employees – one of the group's many complaints against their parent company – Hybe was subject to an audit and had to hand over an internal document to government officials.