HYBE CEO said ‘disciplined’ NewJeans measures ‘bearing fruit’

“I told you in the shareholder meeting held last year that we will tackle our problems with calm and disciplined measures one by one, even if it takes time, based on principles,” Lee said on Monday during this year’s shareholder meeting held in western Seoul, when asked about the company’s strategies regarding the NewJeans scandal.

“I believe that we are seeing the fruits of those endeavors,” he said.

HYBE’s subsidiary ADOR won an injunction case against NewJeans when a local court earlier this month ordered the five singers to return to ADOR and continue their activities as members of NewJeans. The singers announced on March 23, after the court decision, that they will take time off from their activities.

The decision was not agreed upon with ADOR, according to the agency.

“We have a firm belief in the multilabel system and its value,” Lee said Monday, regarding the NewJeans issue. HYBE’s multilable system has been brought into question repeatedly since the company’s brawl with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin broke out last April.

“The multilabel system is the reason why we could become the fourth-largest music company following Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, along with our solution and platform businesses. We did run into some errors in the process, but we are fixing them as we go along,” Lee said.

The first hearing on the lawsuit filed by ADOR to verify that the company’s contract with the NewJeans members is valid will take place on April 3.

When asked about plans regarding HYBE’s biggest boy band BTS, Lee remained cautious. All of the members are set to finish their military duties by June. Onlookers have been wagering on new BTS music to come by the end of the year, followed by a world tour soon afterward.

“The members of BTS are going to finish their military duties within the first half of this year and return to their activities,” the CEO said. “But they need time to prepare for their music. We are in talks with top-tier songwriters but the artists also need time to think and prepare themselves.”

The date of the tour will also come after the members set a comeback date, according to Lee.

“A tour date is usually set after [an artist] finishes their music,” Lee said. “Since BTS members have already marked themselves down as global artists, we are consistently talking about the next step and their visions, which means that we will also need to think about our strategies in accordance with that direction.”

“The multilable system that we have established continues to become stronger. We will focus on making a multi-home, multi-genre system into the world,” he added.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]