The members’ parents exposed HYBE’s intentions.

In a recent media interview, one of the NewJeans members’ parents claimed that HYBE was planning to put the group on a long break after their Tokyo Dome concerts in Japan next month.

Park Ji Won then came later and stated after NewJeans performs at the tokyo dome (after Min Hee Jin’s departure), HYBE was planning on putting NewJeans on a long hiatus.

— NewJeans’ Parent

The CEO of HYBE, Park Ji Won, reportedly told the members’ parents that HYBE would be giving the group a long break after June 26 and 27 without disclosing the exact duration of the break. He also assured them that he would bring a Grammy-winning producer on board to work with NewJeans. But this scouting process alone could take up to one and a half years, leading the parents to believe that the group’s hiatus will also last the same amount of time.

This news has caused concern not only among fans but also music critics, who find it a preposterous plan guaranteed to derail the career of NewJeans.

Critic Lim Hee Yeun said that this long break went against the basic requirement of K-Pop groups these days, which is to stay in the public eye as frequently as possible.

The current trend in the local entertainment scene is K-pop groups taking fewer and fewer breaks to the point where making a comeback is almost meaningless. K-pop groups release a new single every month, and when they are not pursuing musical activities, they produce their own content as well as communicate with fans online regularly. Even a month-and-a-half break can be seen as critical to a K-pop group.

— Lim Hee Yeun, music critic

HYBE, however, defended its position, saying that Park Ji Won “wouldn’t have mentioned a (Grammy Winning) producer to work with NewJeans if he intended to put them on a hiatus.”

According to music industry insiders, HYBE’s promise to bring a new producer to work with NewJeans is also alarming, as it could eliminate the group’s signature sound, which it has built over the past two years.

NewJeans has been working with local indie musicians such as 250 and FRNK of Beats And Natives Alike, better known as BANA, Danish singer-songwriter Erika de Casier and Swedish artist Ylva Dimberg. They have given NewJeans a unique music style that is much beloved by its fans. It would be an act of suicide to change all that abruptly by hiring a new music producer who is more familiar with American music.

— Lim Hee Yeun, music critic

As HYBE and ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin’s legal battle drags on, the future of the NewJeans members keeps getting increasingly uncertain.