HYBE stock plunges after ADOR CEO's emotionally-charged press appearance

HYBE's headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul [NEWS1]

HYBE's stock price plunged more than 5 percent on Friday, following a press conference by NewJeans' producer publicly revealing the internal feud between the entertainment agency and its sublabel ADOR.

Shares of HYBE, the agency behind BTS, dropped as low as 5.75 percent to trade at 199,800 won ($145) apiece, marking a decrease of over 50 percent from its peak in November 2021. However, it has partially recovered and is currently trading above 200,000 as of Friday morning.

On Thursday, HYBE announced its intention to report ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin to the police over breach of trust. In response, Min held a press conference, alleging that HYBE sidelined NewJeans since the girl group's debut and mistreated her as the producer behind their success. Min claimed that HYBE compelled ADOR not to promote NewJeans before its debut in favor of promoting Le Sserafim, a girl group under Source Music, which HYBE acquired in 2019.

Following HYBE's launch of an audit into ADOR, the company's stock closed down 7.81 percent on Monday. HYBE's audit team reportedly seized digital assets from ADOR's office and obtained statements from company officials.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]