K-pop fans were recently thrilled when BTS’ Jungkook posted a photo in support of NewJeans with the caption “Don’t use them,” implying that artists shouldn’t be dragged into disputes and used as shields.
The question arises: who is Jungkook referring to?
About Min Hee Jin:
When HYBE uncovered an attempt to overthrow the company, instead of focusing on the legal issues during the press conference, Min Hee Jin (MHJ) dragged NewJeans, ILLIT, BTS, and Le Sserafim into the conversation to justify his actions:
- “I love NewJeans so much, that’s why I’m worried.”
- “I consider myself the mother of NewJeans.”
- “I took action because I was uncomfortable with the fact that ILLIT was copying NewJeans.”
- “I felt betrayed when Le Sserafim first debuted.”
- “BTS is a trump card, so I wanted to develop NewJeans before they enlisted.”
In a press conference, MHJ highlighted his success with NewJeans by saying, “I achieved success with NewJeans in 2 years, which a lot of big bands haven’t done,” using his “successes” to justify his scheme against ADOR and using NewJeans as a “shield” to deflect criticism.
As a talented artistic director, MHJ skillfully built her image as the “mother of New Jeans,” but behind the scenes she denigrated and criticized the five girls, claiming she couldn’t remember when questioned by reporters.
There is no professional boundary with NewJeans; MHJ even called and cried with the members at midnight when the drama broke out. In 20 years of K-pop, no CEO has crossed the CEO-artist boundary like MHJ has.
Likewise, it is rare to see an idol’s family have as much of a “voice” as NewJeans’ parents. Their participation in exclusive interviews in support of MHJ and in allegations against HYBE of various charges has raised questions as to why they have involved themselves in what is a legal battle between HYBE and MHJ, unrelated to NewJeans. This has led to suspicions that CEO Min had “enlisted” NewJeans’ parents.
On September 11, during a YouTube livestream, NewJeans demanded that HYBE “reinstate CEO MHJ by September 25.” Would NewJeans make such demands without a legal team advising them? And what legal team would dare advise NewJeans against HYBE? There is only one possibility here.
About HYBE:
From the very beginning, HYBE has expressed its point of view: “Please stop CEO MHJ from mentioning artists and influencing their image.”
When NewJeans continuously showed support for MHJ, HYBE remained silent and never forced the five girls to stop or take sides. Even during the 9/11 livestream, which violated the contract, HYBE remained indifferent and did not penalize the girls.
HYBE only clashes with MHJ and has never involved NewJeans in this legal battle. It is NewJeans that dragged itself into this fight, for example, with the petition on May 17 and the live stream on September 11. The girls have not been able to separate themselves from MHJ, seeing HYBE’s conflict with MHJ as an attack on them, which has led them to defend MHJ.
The information about NewJeans’ debut was leaked via Dispatch. Many were outraged because the videos were inappropriate at the time and thought that HYBE was trying to discredit NewJeans. However, HYBE’s goal was to prove that MHJ had taken interns from Source Music but refused to acknowledge it. It is true that HYBE could have handled the matter differently than posting images of NewJeans without their permission.
Honestly speaking, HYBE did not care for NewJeans. But since ADOR is the only company where CEO MHJ manages all aspects, from business to art, NewJeans was completely separated from HYBE. So, the five girls spent most of their time working with MHJ, leading to a disparity of care and attention that HYBE could not match, but HYBE never involved NewJeans in this conflict.
In contrast, CEO MHJ has clearly failed to maintain professional distance with the five girls. Instead of engaging in legal battles, MHJ has continually drawn NewJeans into this conflict, leading them to sign the May 17 petition and open the September 11 livestream to keep Min.
So who is using NewJeans as a shield in this battle?
