Announces Entry via Unannounced Live Broadcast
"HYBE Faces No Protection Despite Private Content Disclosure"
Also Appeals Against Unfair Demands and Pressure
Group NewJeans publicly requested that Min Hee-jin, former CEO of their agency Adore, be reinstated by HYBE, Adore's parent company, by the 25th of this month. This is the first time NewJeans has directly expressed their position since conflicts arose between HYBE and former CEO Min.
On the 11th, the five NewJeans members?Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Hyein, and Haerin?appeared on a YouTube live broadcast without prior notice, saying, "We hope they stop harassing CEO Min Hee-jin on a human level," and urged for Min’s return by stating, "What we want is the original Adore where management and producing are unified under CEO Min Hee-jin." The broadcast was conducted through a personal channel, not the official NewJeans channel.
The approximately 34-minute live broadcast was summarized into two main points: ▲exposing unfair treatment experienced at HYBE and Adore ▲demanding the return of former CEO Min Hee-jin.
"This isn’t something CEO Min told us to do; we have things we want to say, so we’re broadcasting"
NewJeans members and Min Hee-jin, former ADORE CEO (third from the left). [Photo by Min Hee-jin SNS]
First, Hyein explained, "We were distressed seeing CEO Min suffer under unfair demands and pressure, and we were very worried about our future. This live broadcast was prepared because the five of us have things we want to say, not because CEO Min told us to."
Haerin confessed, "I was really shocked that private materials like our trainee period videos and medical records were leaked. I really couldn’t understand how the company, which is supposed to protect us, failed to manage and ended up leaking such (personal) data."
Hanni shared, "Recently, while waiting to get makeup done inside the company, I ran into other artists and staff, and I overheard a manager say 'ignore her' loud enough for me to hear. I reported this to the company, but they said there was nothing they could do without evidence. I felt like, 'There’s no one left to protect us, and no one intends to protect us anymore.'"
Minji appealed, "As someone involved, I feel very uncomfortable with the unnecessary and exhausting issues dragging on for over half a year. The incident with director Shin Woo-seok should never have happened. What’s happening now (at HYBE and Adore) is absolutely not for our benefit. We have music we want to make and goals we want to achieve as NewJeans, but if this continues, we might lose the works and the team’s identity we’ve built so far, which is the most upsetting and makes us feel powerless."
Earlier, Adore’s board resolved to dismiss former CEO Min on the 27th of last month and appointed Kim Joo-young, an internal director at HYBE (CHRO, Chief Human Resources Officer), as the new CEO. Kim emphasized the 'principle of separating management and production,' similar to other HYBE labels, but this was interpreted as a move to distance the inconvenient former CEO Min from NewJeans. Adore announced that Min would continue producing, but Min refused to sign the contract, citing toxic clauses and other issues.
"We don’t want to follow the society HYBE belongs to; please reinstate CEO Min by the 25th"
Daniel said, "I learned about CEO Min Hee-jin’s dismissal through an article on the same day, and it was so sudden and unimaginable that I felt very distressed and confused," adding, "It made me certain that (HYBE) does not respect us at all."
She continued, "If (HYBE) truly cares about us, they shouldn’t just say they prioritize artists but should simply let us go so we can rely on them, enjoy ourselves, and work with the music we love."
The NewJeans members explained that after the CEO change, they met with Adore’s new management to convey their opinions, but they felt their requests were not clearly communicated and that communication was blocked, which led to this live broadcast.
Daniel asked, "We were just working hard for our dreams, so what did we do wrong?" and appealed, "HYBE just looks like an inhumane company. Please stop harassing our CEO Min Hee-jin on a human level."
Minji emphasized, "What we want is the original Adore with CEO Min in charge, where management and producing are unified," and urged, "Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE, please make the wise decision to restore Adore to its original state by the 25th."
The NewJeans members set the deadline for CEO Min’s reinstatement as the 25th of this month but did not mention their response if the request is rejected. However, Haerin said, "We don’t want to conform, sympathize, or follow the society those people (HYBE and current Adore management) belong to," adding, "We will not choose to go in that direction."
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