[Focus Y] Wailing press conference and drunk driving...Clearing Up Music Industry Incidents Shocked in 2024

Photo courtesy = OSEN, Yonhap News

There was no windy day in the music industry this year. Big and small incidents, accidents and controversies have shocked fans. Among them, I picked three most unforgettable controversies.

◆ Hivevs Min Hee-jin and New Jeans Dispute Left at Legend Press Conference

Photo courtesy = OSEN, Hive, Adore

This year's top issue in the music industry. The dispute between Hive and Min Hee-jin, which has erupted since the blooming spring, is still ongoing at the end of the year when the weather is below zero. In April, Hive claimed that former CEO Min Hee-jin tried to take over management rights, and Min countered that he began receiving retaliatory audits after pointing out allegations of plagiarism between in-house labels.

The decisive moment that drew attention to the dispute was former representative Min's press conference. The press conference, in which former CEO Min, dressed comfortably, poured out his story in quick fire for more than two hours, is considered the most popular media event in the entertainment industry this year. At the time, former CEO Min pointed out the shortcomings of Hive's "multi-label" system and accused senior Hive officials of being "a dog man." He even cursed without hesitation, which stimulated the public's support. However, Hive protested, saying, "It is an act of misleading the point."

The press conference was briefly talked about. The dispute entered into a long legal battle. The first legal dispute was a provisional injunction filed by Min Hee-jin to defend his dismissal. In this provisional injunction, the court ruled in favor of former representative Min, who seemed to keep his position. However, Hive ultimately brought down Min after changing the board of directors.

Hive asked to stay as an in-house director, but former CEO Min did not break his will, insisting on the unification of management and production responsibilities. Min left Odor and Hive completely seven months after holding the press conference.

In the process, a number of controversies arose around them, including Hive's Weekly Report document, which contains slanderous contents of idols from other agencies, suspicion of plagiarism of Eilette, and suspicion of bullying Newzins Hani in the company. In particular, Hani's alleged bullying went up to the agenda of the parliamentary audit, and Hani attended the parliamentary audit and expressed her position.

Now this conflict has entered the conflict between Hive and Newzins. The members of New Jeans claimed to terminate the exclusive contract, signaling their own activities, and Hive filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract. In 2025, the fight between Odor and Newzins without Min Hee-jin is expected to intensify.

◆ Drunk driving controversy...Kim Ho-joong, who hit-and-run, and Suga who got caught on scooter.

Photo courtesy = OSEN

This year, two popular singers' drunk driving incidents shocked people. It's "Tbarotti" Kim Ho-joong and BTS's Suga.

Kim Ho-joong ran away after having a contact accident with an oncoming taxi at around 11:40 p.m. on May 9 in Sinsa-dong, Seoul. In the process, he was caught up in considerable criticism as he was found to be in a systematic cover-up, such as changing clothes with manager A and trying to change drivers, and another manager B swallowing black box memory.

In particular, Kim Ho-joong and his agency denied the suspicion of drunk driving but changed their words after the scheduled performance, drawing stinging glares. Public criticism that he lied was growing, and even fans who defended Kim Ho-joong were on the hotbed of controversy.

However, at the prosecution stage, the charge of drunk driving against Kim Ho-joong was excluded. This is because Kim Ho-joong drank several times at a time interval, making it difficult to specify an accurate drinking level only by reverse estimation. As a result, the so-called "Kim Ho-joong Prevention Act," which prohibits drinking additional alcohol to interfere with alcohol measurement, will be passed by the National Assembly.

Currently, Kim Ho-joong is serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence and appealed against the first trial's sentence.

BTS Sugar was sentenced to a summary order of 15 million won for driving a scooter drunk in August. Criticism intensified as the incident occurred while Suga was serving as an alternative military service worker.

On the day of the incident, his agency Big Hit Music explained the situation, saying, "I used an electric kickboard" and "I was fined and revoked my license." Suspicions of reducing the incident arose after it was revealed that Suga's mobile device was an electric scooter, not an electric kickboard.

In response, the agency had to explain again, saying, "In the process of additional confirmation, the classification may vary depending on the performance and specifications of the product, and the scope of responsibility for the accident may vary."

◆ Jessie, you're with her party, and you're involved in the assault.

Photo courtesy = Yonhap News

Singer Jesse was involved in an assault incident caused by the group and was embroiled in allegations that he had watched the damage of the fan's assault. In Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, a minor fan was assaulted by a man around her while requesting Jesse to take a picture early on September 29.

The incident became known when a video was released of Jesse leaving the scene with his group while stopping the perpetrator. In response, Jesse said, "I feel moral responsibility," and added, "We are working to ensure that the perpetrators receive reasonable punishment."

However, it was later revealed that Jesse was in contact with the perpetrator, and the identity of the men believed to be the perpetrator also spread quickly online. Criticism intensified as there were even speculations that one of the men belonged to a Korean gang.

In this case, Jesse was booked at the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul on charges of concealing and fleeing the criminal. However, the police decided not to send Jesse because they thought it was difficult to admit the charges, and made a wanted order against the perpetrator, foreign A. In addition, producer B, who participated in the assault among Jesse's party, was sent to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on charges of assault.

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