Director Shin Wooseok Demanding Apology from ADORE: "Spreading False Information? Behind the Scenes, Persuasion"

NewJeans Dito·ETA MV Director, Dolphin Kidnapping Gang CEO
"Ownership of 'Ban Hee-su Channel' Belongs to Us"
"ADOR, If No Apology Today, Will Sue for Defamation"

Shin Woo-seok, CEO of Dolphin Kidnapping Squad who directed music videos such as "Ditto" and "ETA" for the group NewJeans, demanded an apology from NewJeans' agency ADOR.

Group NewJeans. [Photo by ADORE]

On the 9th, CEO Shin posted a lengthy message on his social media, stating that if ADOR does not post an apology by that day, he will file a defamation lawsuit.

CEO Shin expressed anger, saying, "I have recordings and emails, so stop lying," and added, "In ADOR's statement, I am portrayed as a spreader of false information, but why are they desperately trying to contact me behind the scenes to persuade me?"

He continued, "After receiving legal advice, as per the existing agreement, the ownership of the Ban Hee-soo channel belongs to Dolphin Kidnapping Squad," and said, "However, the rights to the channel are not particularly important to Dolphin Kidnapping Squad. We are satisfied as long as the Ban Hee-soo channel exists as an extension of the work. It was a channel created from the beginning without any compensation, for the fans."

He also claimed, "Instead of protecting ADOR employees, they even falsely accuse us. Have they been working this way until now?" and added, "We have been subjected to power abuse for quite some time, so it is hard to adapt. This is how it is for us working in other industries, so I cannot even imagine how it must be for workers in the entertainment industry."

Director Shin Woo-seok.

The protagonist "Ban Hee-soo," who always films NewJeans members with a camcorder in the NewJeans "Ditto" music video, symbolizes the NewJeans fandom "Bunnies," who always watch and support the five members. Along with a wordplay between Ban Hee-soo and Bunnies, a unique worldview has been built. Director Shin separately created the Ban Hee-soo YouTube channel and uploaded videos showing NewJeans members from Ban Hee-soo's perspective as filmed in "Ditto."

However, CEO Shin said, "The rights to the channel are not particularly important to Dolphin Kidnapping Squad. We are satisfied as long as the Ban Hee-soo channel exists as an extension of the work," and expressed, "The channel was created from the beginning without any compensation for the fans, but I no longer want to see fans worried that it might be permanently deleted amid the dispute."

He also emphasized, "We have considered transferring the channel to the fan club, but no good method has come to mind. Therefore, we intend to transfer ownership of the channel to ADOR. However, it must be under the condition of absolute preservation. The channel must be operated under the principle of absolute preservation, without deleting, modifying, or adding anything."

Director Shin Woo-seok's full statement. SNS capture

Director Shin Woo-seok's full statement.
[Photo by SNS capture]

CEO Shin emphasized that his only demand is "an apology from ADOR." He insisted on an apology for ▲ the harsh corrective demands that showed disrespect to partners ▲ ignoring the existing agreement and alleging copyright infringement ▲ criticizing Dolphin Kidnapping Squad and CEO Shin Woo-seok in the statement.

CEO Shin said, "If ADOR posts an apology including these points on their official channels by today, Dolphin Kidnapping Squad will transfer the Ban Hee-soo channel to ADOR," and stressed, "ADOR only needs to apologize. What we want is for ADOR to admit their mistake and resolve this situation for the confused fans."

He added that if ADOR does not apologize, "We will look for ways to transfer the Ban Hee-soo channel to the fans and file a defamation lawsuit against ADOR with evidence of the existing agreement."

Earlier, on the 2nd, CEO Shin deleted all videos on the YouTube channel "Ban Hee-soo." CEO Shin directed NewJeans' music videos "Ditto," "ETA," "Cool With You," and "OMG" in collaboration with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin.

It was also revealed that CEO Shin submitted a petition supporting former CEO Min amid conflicts between Min and ADOR's parent company HYBE.

Through his Instagram, CEO Shin stated, "It seems there are changes in ADOR's policies after the management change," and added, "Due to ADOR's deletion requests, I can no longer publicly share the NewJeans music videos and related videos I worked on and uploaded, as well as videos I planned to upload in the future."

In response, ADOR released a statement saying, "The director's cut of the 'ETA' music video posted on Dolphin Kidnapping Squad's own channel included parts that had disagreements with past advertisers and was posted without consultation with the advertisers," and clarified, "We only requested the suspension of posting that particular video, not the deletion or suspension of all videos on the channel."

They added, "The copyrights of NewJeans' music videos and all related works belong to ADOR under the contract with Dolphin Kidnapping Squad," and stated, "'ETA' music video and its edits must be posted on our official channel to protect the artists' rights."

ADOR recently held a board meeting to dismiss former CEO Min and appointed Kim Ju-young, HYBE's Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), as the new CEO of ADOR. Following this, conflicts arose between ADOR and CEO Shin as ADOR raised issues regarding videos posted and the operation of the channel by Dolphin Kidnapping Squad, citing NewJeans' copyrights.