South Korea’s largest K-pop agency Hybe lost over $423 million in market cap after rookie group NewJeans announced it was terminating its contract with Hybe sub-label ADOR.
The announcement, which follows a months-long management dispute between ADOR and Hybe, sent the company’s shares plunging as much as 6.97%.
The five-member girl group, formed in 2022, said in a press conference that it was leaving the agency, claiming ADOR had breached its contract with the band.
Two weeks ago, NewJeans had sent a legal notice to Hybe with a list of demands, including reinstating former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, failing which, the group members threatened to terminate their contracts.
South Korean media outlet JoongAng Ilbo had also reported that the list of demands included “dealing with” a Hybe internal report that said to “get rid of NewJeans and start anew.”
The group became one of K-Pop’s most popular faces when it debuted in 2022, winning numerous accolades at South Korean award shows. In 2024, NewJeans had also won the Group of the Year Award at Billboard’s Women in Music ceremony.
Hybe shares have lost 15.72% so far this year amid a wider downtrend in the industry, with all of the “Big Four” K-pop agencies seeing shares drop.
