"There was discrimination" — NJZ calls out HYBE, claims unequal treatment compared to LE SSERAFIM

On March 7, 2025, Daily Sports reported that during the first injunction hearing between ADOR and NewJeans (NJZ), the girl group accused HYBE and the label of alleged discrimination.

During this initial hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, NewJeans presented allegations regarding the debut order of HYBE's girl groups and claims of plagiarism involving another HYBE-affiliated group, ILLIT.

NewJeans's lawyers asserted that HYBE intentionally prioritized LE SSERAFIM's debut despite NewJeans being designated as HYBE's primary girl group from the outset.

"There was discrimination. HYBE said that NJZ would debut as 'HYBE's first girl group.' Former CEO Min Hee-jin also joined HYBE with this expectation. However, HYBE neglected the debtors until September 2021 after the (NewJeans) debut evaluation was over in March 2021. Source Music recruited Sakura, Kim Chae-won, and Heo Yu-jin and debuted Seraphim first. There was no explanation during that time."

NewJeans's representative team claimed that NewJeans' Hyein was selected as Louis Vuitton's ambassador first. However, LE SSERAFIM was announced as the brand ambassador before Hyein, allegedly at HYBE's request.

"In particular, member Hyein was selected as a specific brand ambassador, but LE SSERAFIM was suddenly selected as the brand ambassador. After checking with the brand, we learned that Hybe made the request first, and that the brand naturally asked for the debtor's understanding, and we also received an apology."

Amid ongoing tension, NewJeans members terminated their contract with ADOR on November 28, 2024. They announced their new group name, NJZ, on February 7, 2025, and confirmed their re-debut performance at ComplexCon from March 21 to 23. However, ADOR warned them of legal breaches for rebranding themselves during ongoing lawsuits.

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ADOR contests NJZ's claims of HYBE's alleged unfair treatment and cites $18 million investment behind the group

In addition to the debut order allegations, NewJeans also raised claims that ILLIT, another HYBE girl group under Belift Lab, copied their style. The situation escalated in April 2024 when Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of ADOR (the label for NewJeans), publicly accused ILLIT's team of plagiarizing NewJeans' artistic ideas. She pointed out similar styling, dance routines, and music video visuals.

In response, ILLIT's team denied these accusations and sued Min Hee-jin for defamation, seeking 2 billion won. At the hearing, ADOR's legal team defended NewJeans' position by highlighting HYBE's significant investment of 21 billion won (about $18 million) in NewJeans' development and success.

They highlighted that approximately 50 ADOR employees, including stylists, producers, choreographers, and managers, have dedicated their efforts to nurturing the group since their trainee days.

HYBE argued that the allegations of discrimination and plagiarism were baseless, insisting that the company acted in the best interests of all its artists. An ADOR representative commented during the injunction hearing:

"NewJeans (NJZ) is one of the world-class girl groups representing Korea. The dedication of all (Ador, HYBE) employees was behind their success. HYBE invested a total of 21 billion won for the success of NJZ, which is unprecedented. NJZ had been promoting themselves since before their debut by appearing in BTS music videos and doing challenges with artists from other HYBE companies.

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The tensions between NJZ and HYBE can be traced back to internal conflicts involving Min Hee-jin. In April 2024, HYBE launched an internal audit of Min Hee-jin and her executives for allegedly attempting to gain full control of ADOR.

Min Hee-jin refuted these allegations, claiming that her concerns about the creative similarities between NewJeans and ILLIT were the real source of the conflict. She specifically held HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk responsible, as he oversaw ILLIT's debut production and failed to resolve these issues.