Hive-Minhijin Duel
LE SSERAFIM Called Out in 'No.1 Girl Group' Debate
Source Music, the agency of LE SSERAFIM, recently expressed regret over Min Hee-jin, the CEO of ADOR, mentioning LE SSERAFIM during a press conference. They addressed the claim that, contrary to the original plan to debut the group 'NewJeans' as HYBE's first girl group, LE SSERAFIM was debuted first.
On the 26th, Source Music posted on the online platform Weverse, stating, "Our company deeply regrets the current situation where false information and rude expressions are made publicly, including disrespectful mentions of other artists by name," and added, "We strongly request that such incidents do not recur in the future."
Group LE SSERAFIM is performing a track from their third mini-album 'EASY' at the release showcase held on the afternoon of the 19th at Hwa-jeong Gymnasium, Korea University, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
They continued, "Many malicious posts and reckless speculations have arisen based on one-sided claims with inaccurate facts," and said, "We believe that malicious posts including indiscriminate insults toward LE SSERAFIM, spreading false information, sexual harassment, malicious slander and ridicule, and defamation have reached a serious level, and we will strengthen necessary legal actions to protect our artists."
Furthermore, they explained, "False claims that LE SSERAFIM caused harm to other artists and presenting untrue information as established facts to shape public opinion is a clear case of spreading false information," and added, "Posts containing ridicule, profanity, insults to the artists' dignity, and sexual harassment are all subject to legal action. We plan to respond strictly to malicious posts regardless of the channel, including SNS and online communities."
Source Music earnestly requested, "Please stop malicious acts against our artists," and stated, "Our company will do its best to protect the rights and interests of our artists."
On the 25th, CEO Min held an urgent press conference live at the Korea Conference Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, together with legal representatives from Sejong. At this event, Min refuted allegations of management rights takeover and stated that contrary to the promise that HYBE would debut NewJeans as 'HYBE's first girl group,' LE SSERAFIM was debuted first, and that NewJeans was unable to promote until before LE SSERAFIM's debut.
Min said, "Outside, people think I was running ADOR with the support of Bang Si-hyuk, but that is absolutely not true," and added, "While HYBE was using the phrase 'Min Hee-jin girl group' for LE SSERAFIM, they demanded that NewJeans not be promoted at all. During this process, we received complaints from NewJeans' parents about neglecting the members."
In response, HYBE issued a rebuttal statement on the same day, explaining, "Respecting CEO Min's opinion, despite Source Music's opposition, we transferred these (NewJeans) members to ADOR and supported them with a large fund of 16 billion KRW to allow Min to debut NewJeans in the way she wanted," and added, "In this process, the company's division and contract transfer inevitably delayed NewJeans' debut schedule, which was beyond HYBE's intention."
They further explained, "Due to the R&P dispute between Source Music and CEO Min, NewJeans' debut schedule was delayed, resulting in LE SSERAFIM, prepared by Source Music, debuting first," and clarified, "Since the debut timings of the two teams were consecutive, there was insufficient time for adequate promotion, so a minimum promotion period was set."
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