HYBE and Min Hee-jin reportedly in power struggle over NewJeans agency ADOR

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The Samsung TV Plus platform has logged steady growth as a distribution platform for entertainment and lifestyle content during the past five years. Now, the South Korean electronics giant is putting a bigger spotlight on the potential of its device-based footprint, which encompasses more than 630 million TV sets, smartphones and other devices sold across 24 countries.

Jamie Lang International Emmy-winning French animation producer-distributor Dandelooo has closed a deal with Korea’s Dream Factory Studio for the latter’s new CG preschool series “PongPong Dino.” Targeted at 2-4-year-olds, “PongPong Dino” is a new IP produced by Dream Factory and directed by animator Tacken Chae. In the show, the audience is invited to a world where playing with your food is an important part of each meal.

SHINee singer Onew has announced his upcoming solo 2024 ‘Guess!’ tour, featuring concerts in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and more.SHINee’s Onew and his label Griffin Entertainment announced the K-pop singer’s solo 2024 ‘Guess!’ tour on April 29. The tour will feature 11 concerts across seven countries in Asia from May to July this year.The idol will kick off his tour with a two-date concert in Seoul, South Korean on May 17 and 18.

K-pop touring cycle is in full swing. Stars including SEVENTEEN, aespa and NCT Dream are touring the world with new tunes in tow – and hitting Asia very soon.While some of those artists are staging their own headline shows, others are on the line-ups of music festivals with both multi-genre and Hallyu-only line-ups.

ZEROBASEONE have announced the dates for their upcoming 2024 ‘The First Tour’ tour, featuring concerts in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and more.Today (April 29), ZEROBASEONE revealed the dates for their forthcoming 2024 ‘The First Tour’ tour, which will feature 14 concerts in seven different countries from September to December this year.The K-pop boyband will kick off their tour with a three-date show at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea from September 20 to 22. In the same month, the group will also hold a concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.In the following month, ZEROBASEONE will bring their 2024 ‘The First Tour’ tour to other cities and countries across Southeast Asia.

Apink, Girls’ Generation and more have allegedly been “detained” in Bali, Indonesia after reportedly filming a show in the country without permit.Today (April 26), South Korean news outlet SPOTV reported that four K-pop idols – Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon, Apink’s Bomi, Secret Number‘s Dita and ex-I.O.I member Nayoung – have been detained in Bali, alongside other cast and crew members of the upcoming reality television programme Pick Me Trip in Bali.According to the news outlet, the K-pop idols arrived in Bali on April 21 and were scheduled to leave on April 25. However, their departure from Bali was stopped after local authorities discovered that the show the was being filmed without appropriate permits.All of the cast and crew, which amounts up to around 30 individuals, have allegedly had their passports confiscated and are currently residing in a hotel while the case is under investigation.

Kep1er will reportedly disband in July after discussions about a potential contract extension fall through.Today (April 25), South Korean news outlet Star News reported that Kep1er will disband in July as originally scheduled, with the members returning back to their respective agencies thereafter. The K-pop act were in discussions for a contract extension earlier this month, according to Dispatch.The temporary girl group – comprising Yujin, Xiaoting, Mashiro, Chaehyun, Dayeon, Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih, Youngeun and Yeseo – were formed through the 2021 reality show Girls Planet 999 and had a contract for two years and six months.Per Star News, the girl group will release new music and hold a concert to bid their fans farewell before their official disbandment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief HYBE Corp., the biggest corporation in the South Korean pop music scene, has begun an audit into ADOR, the label responsible for K-pop act NewJeans. HYBE says that executives at the majority-owned subsidiary mya be attempting to break away from the conglomerate. “HYBE invoked the right to audit CEO Min Hee-Jin and top executives of its subsidiary label ADOR, called them to summon a shareholder meeting and sent an official letter to ask CEO Min to step down,” HYBE said in a statement emailed to Variety. Media sources in Korea have reported that the audit targets Min and one of her deputies and that computer assets have been seized and face-to-face statements already taken. They also report that HYBE suspects Min and her deputy to have circulated confidential information to outsiders in a possible bid to attract investors who would allow ADOR to gain its independence from the parent company. ADOR was founded in 2021 as a HYBE subsidiary and is currently 18% owned by Min, a renown hit-maker in the Korean music industry.

HYBE has claimed that it has found evidence that ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin is trying to “seize control” of the K-pop agency, while the latter has described such a move as “impossible”.HYBE and Min Hee-jin have been in an increasingly public feud and power struggle over ADOR, the K-pop agency that’s best known as home to K-pop girl group NewJeans. The dispute was made public on Monday (April 22), after South Korean media reported that HYBE had launched an investigation against Min over alleged plans to take ownership of the label.HYBE CEO Park Ji-won has since claimed that it has discovered evidence that Min and other ADOR execs had plans to “seize control of the company” in an email to employees, per Yonhap News Agency, adding that HYBE would “take appropriate actions after confirming more [of the truth] through this audit”.Park added that HYBE’s current top priority is on “keeping its artists and other members safe”.

ADOR and entertainment giant HYBE.This is according to a new exclusive report by South Korean news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily, which cited a source with “knowledge in the matter”. This comes shortly after news that HYBE and ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, the woman behind NewJeans, are in a power struggle over the K-pop agency.“NewJeans will make a comeback in Korea with a new single in May, whether or not ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin cooperates with HYBE,” the source told the publication.

ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin has accused South Korean entertainment giant HYBE of “undermining” the success of K-pop girl group NewJeans by creating a copycat version of the quintet.On Monday night (April 22), ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin accused HYBE, which owns the majority of the K-pop agency, of trying to “undermine” the success of its girl group NewJeans. The music executive’s statement came shortly after news broke that Min and HYBE were in a power struggle over ADOR.In her statement, the ADOR CEO accused HYBE of copying the “makeup, costumes, choreography, photos, videos and event appearances” of NewJeans for the new girl group ILLIT, who recently made their debut under HYBE subsidiary Belift Lab.“The cultural success of ADOR’s NewJeans is ironically being undermined by HYBE,” Min said, per Korea JoongAng Daily.

Britain's Got Talent fans were left demanding a 'missing' star return as the series' second episode aired on Sunday night (April 21). Millions tuned in to episode one which aired on Saturday night (April 20), officially kicking off the 2024 series.

Britain's Got Talent fans have jokingly demanded that the show should change its name after spotting a pattern. The hit ITV talent competition returned over the weekend with a double show extravaganza.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ retained its lead at the top of the South Korean box office on what was the quietest cinema-going weekend in more than a year. The animated franchise movie held up reasonably. It maintained a nearly 44% market share, dropped only 32% week-on-week and was untroubled by competition from new releases. The film earned $1.91 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Britain's Got Talent fans were left fuming after spotting an 'annoying' issue with the show's editing. The talent contest returned to ITV this weekend, with a double bill airing across Saturday and Sunday evenings (April 20 and 21).

EXCLUSIVE: US-Bangladeshi action movie MR-9: Do or Die, starring ABM Sumon, Michael Jai White and Frank Grillo, has been picked up by Quiver Distribution for a North American VOD/digital release this month.

Super Junior have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘Super Show Spin-off: Halftime’ tour, with concerts in Thailand, Singapore and more.Today (April 18), Super Junior announced the dates and venues of their upcoming 2024 ‘Super Show Spin-off: Halftime’ tour. It comes about three months after the boyband first teased the tour in a statement to news outlet News1.The K-pop boyband will kick off their 12-date tour with a two-date performance on June 22 and 23 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

SHINee singer Key has announced dates for his upcoming 2024 ‘Keyland On: And On’ tour, featuring concerts in Thailand, Indonesia and more.Today (April 17), SHINee’s Key revealed four new dates for his 2024 ‘Keyland On: And On’ tour. They come about three months after the singer originally kicked off the series of concerts with a two-night performance at the Olympic Handball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.Key will bring his ‘Keyland On: And On’ tour to the cities of Bangkok, Jakarta and Macau in July 2024, all of which will take place on either a Saturday or Sunday.

Next year, we’ll witness a unique venture from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho (known for his Best Picture-winning “Parasite”) as he returns to the sci-fi genre with his upcoming film “Mickey 17.” featuring the talented duo Robert Pattinson and Mark Ruffalo. But that’s not all the South Korean filmmaker is cooking up.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney has confirmed that Korean webtoon-to-screen adaptation “Low Life” is poised to begin production. When valuable treasure is discovered off the coast of Korea, the country’s biggest degenerates come crawling out of the woodwork in the hope of striking it big. Word spreads after a fisherman got lucky and kept a piece of the booty for himself.