Recently, a post on the Korean online community theqoo with the content: "NewJeans disappeared in HYBE's 4th quarter plan" attracted 60,000 reads and more than 500 comments.
According to the post, on October 14, HYBE Group announced a statistical table of artists' activities in the fourth quarter of 2024 (from October to December).
NewJeans group has no music product release activities in the last 3 months of the year. Although previously, in the 2nd quarter plan, HYBE clearly stated that NewJeans' new album will be released in the 4th quarter.
In March, at a fan meeting at Tokyo Dome (Japan), NewJeans themselves mentioned that they were working on an album and expected to release it in the second half of 2024. But it seems that this album has been postponed indefinitely.
In an interview with JoongAng Ilbo on September 26, former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin said that NewJeans' album work was halted due to conflicts with HYBE.
“There were major disruptions. I was fired while planning a surprise fan meeting for Korean fans. Vice presidents were also abruptly removed from their duties and fired.
Work on the next album has also been suspended. It's really heartbreaking. This is also an act of obstruction that HYBE is doing to NewJeans" - Min Hee Jin shared.
With the latest plan announced by HYBE, it seems that NewJeans' album release this year has been canceled.
The conflict between Min Hee Jin and HYBE began in April this year, when HYBE suddenly conducted an audit of the NewJeans group's management company - ADOR - because they suspected Min Hee Jin and her associates of plotting to take over the company.
For four months, the two sides fought back and forth in the media. By the end of August, HYBE fired Min Hee Jin and appointed a new CEO for ADOR, Kim Joo Young.
On September 11, 5 NewJeans members including Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein held a surprise livestream on YouTube, asking HYBE to bring Min Hee Jin back to the position of CEO of ADOR before September 25. But this request was not approved.
Recently, the media was stirred up again when the parents of NewJeans members suspected HYBE of deleting security camera evidence, related to Hanni being ignored and isolated by another group manager in the corporation.
On October 15, Hanni will attend a hearing of the Korean National Assembly, through a summons request from the Environment and Labor Committee.
Hanni and CEO Kim Joo Young were both summoned, but only Hanni confirmed her attendance. The Committee is expected to question Hanni about the workplace bullying issues she described.
