K-pop powerhouse HYBE will debut a girl group under its newly established label ABD, the company said on Friday.

The upcoming girl group will make its debut in the latter half of the year, according to HYBE. It will be directed by Han Sung-soo, the founder and board member of Pledis Entertainment, another HYBE subsidiary.


ABD will be headed by No Ji-won, the former chief of artist planning at Pledis Entertainment, and will specialize in girl groups.

The new label's name refers to the company's willingness to break conventional rules — by jumping from A, B to D instead of C — to explore a wider range of creativity and entertainment, according to HYBE.

ABD will join HYBE's extensive lineup of K-pop labels: BigHit Music, the agency of boy bands BTS, Tomorrow X Together and Cortis; Pledis Entertainment, home to boy bands Seventeen and TWS; Belift Lab, which manages boy band Enhypen and girl group ILLIT; Source Music, the agency of girl group Le Sserafim; ADOR, home to girl group NewJeans; and KOZ Entertainment, which manages boy band BoyNextDoor.

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