NewJeans / Courtesy of Ador

A new allegation has emerged against Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, deepening the rift between Ador and HYBE, along with its sublabel Source Music. The claim accuses Min of poaching trainees from Source Music to debut them in the girl group NewJeans under her own label, Ador.

Ador was quick to refute the allegation, threatening to take legal action against the news outlet that reported the allegation and HYBE, accusing it of feeding the sources. However, Source Music soon released a counter-argument against Ador and said it would also take legal action against Ador for spreading false information.

The controversy was ignited by a report from Korean entertainment news outlet Dispatch, which claimed that NewJeans members — Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein — were initially part of a seven-member trainee group at Source Music, revealing a video of the group practicing the dance moves for "Attention," NewJeans' debut song, at Source Music's studio in March 2021, more than a year before the idol group's debut.

The report detailed the alleged misuse of internal documents and consultations with a shaman by Min in her strategy to move the group to Ador.

According to the report, Source Music started training a girl group, under the project name Team N, aiming to debut it in the third quarter of 2021, and Min joined as the group's visual and branding director in 2019. However, the group's debut was pushed back due to Min's series of delays in sharing her branding concept for the group while consulting with a shaman for a way to bring the debuting girl group over to her own label.

When the debut timeline for Team N was delayed, Source Music ended up transferring Team N to Min in September 2021 and opted to first debut Team S, now Le Sserafim, in May 2022, making them HYBE's inaugural girl group.

The news report showed work messages and emails between Source Music and Min's office and between Min and Source Music's CEO So Sung-jin, as well as private messages between Min and a shaman. It even showed Min consulting on the group's final lineup with the shaman, seeking advice on whether to include each member.

In response, Ador has defended its CEO, saying the report was "false information reconstructed based on speculation" and insisting that Min had already planned a separate launch strategy.

It explained that the BigHit marketing team suggested to her in March 2020 about debuting a girl group in 2021. But after Min decided that the group's creative direction was different from her own vision, she prepared a separate launching strategy on her own and presented it to HYBE's head Bang Si-Hyuk, So and other Source Music officials, in May 2020.

Ador CEO Min Hee-jin speaks during a press conference at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, May 31. Joint Press Corps, Yonhap

"(Bang responded) Hee-jin's presentation plan is quite excellent but radical (exact words used at the time) and it seems difficult to actualize with Source Music's resources. So it would be better to proceed with it under Min's label," Ador said in the release.

It also said Source Music offered a girl group launch strategy in August 2020 that copied most of the materials from Min's previous presentation, and when she complained the label admitted copying.

The agency added that messages and meeting minutes shared in the article would have only been available through HYBE and Source Music, and strongly denounced the violation of the artists' privacy, referring to the leaked video of the group's dance practice.

"Exposing the personal information of trainees without permission whose contracts were already terminated and are under a different agency, as well as leaking various data that violates confidentiality constitute a breach of contract and a serious felony," Ador said.

"The legal representatives of Ador and NewJeans are seriously angered by the numerous illogical PR plays and responses that HYBE is currently committing and are considering measures against them."

Source Music quickly refuted Ador's claim, saying the label never copied Min's strategy nor admitted to Min's complaint.

"Regarding Chairman Bang's suggestion on Min's launching strategy proposal in May 2020, he meant for Min to actualize her proposal with a ‘new team' under the label she would establish, not through Team N," it said.

"Despite being well aware of the discussion at that time, (Ador) is distorting the facts to make it seem as if Chairman Bang had suggested implementing her launching strategy through Team N."

Earlier this month, amid ongoing conflicts between Min and HYBE, Source Music filed a lawsuit against Ador, seeking damages for defamation, business interference and insult, based on Min's allegations of trainee neglect. The label also indicated plans to pursue further legal actions in response to Ador's latest false claims.

"Min is continuing to spread false information related to Source Music. We would like to inform you that in addition to the damages lawsuit already filed against Min, we intend to take strong legal action regarding this matter as well," Source Music said. "Furthermore, we share our willingness to disclose the materials we possess at any time if necessary to clearly set the record straight."

Meanwhile, the parents of NewJeans' members spoke to World Sports, a local news outlet, expressing their support for Min in the ongoing conflict.

"Under Source Music, the final debut evaluation determines the trainees' fates but there had been no feedback (for then-trainee members) for months. All the members were anxious, thinking they couldn't debut. And until they moved to Ador, they hadn't received any explanation from CEO So," a member's mother told the outlet.

"Not only us, but all members remember the circumstances of how Source Music neglected NewJeans as trainees. There's also a lot of serious evidence that HYBE is currently mistreating NewJeans. We wonder if they want us to reveal all of this."

Amid the issue, HYBE CEO Park Ji-won resigned from his position after leading the company for three years. The company announced, Wednesday, that it would appoint its CSO, Lee Jae-sang, as the new leader.

As the conflict between HYBE and Ador continues to make waves, fans have expressed frustration toward the extended conflict.

"I knew it would happen, but it's really turning into a mud-slinging fight. They're shooting at each other and exposing everything. Whatever happens, just make sure the trainees don't get hurt in the middle of it all. It seems like neither side really cares about the trainees' lives anyway," a user wrote on an online community platform.