As of Sep 11th, all 43 previously uploaded videos on the “Ban Heesoo” YouTube channel have been made public again.
Ban Heesoo is a fictional character from NewJeans‘ “Ditto” music video, with videos on the channel capturing the daily lives of the NewJeans members. The channel, which was operated as a fan service, has about 660,000 subscribers, and its ownership belongs to Dolphiners Films.
After Min Hee-jin was removed from her position as CEO of ADOR and Kim Joo-young was appointed as the new CEO, the videos related to NewJeans on the Ban Heesoo channel became a subject of controversy.
Shin Woo-seok, the CEO of Dolphiners Films, stated that ADOR had requested the deletion of the videos produced by his team, leading him to make all the videos on the channel private.
In response, ADOR released a statement on Sep 9th, stating, “Under the music video production contract between ADOR and Dolphiners Films, all rights to the music videos, as well as derivative works, belong to ADOR. Posting videos that include the NewJeans IP on Dolphiners Films’ channel without ADOR’s approval is a clear breach of the contract.”
However, CEO Shin Woo-seok countered by claiming that ADOR’s actions were retaliatory, as he had submitted a letter of support for Min Hee-jin during her legal dispute with HYBE.
On Sep 10th, Shin Woo-seok posted on Instagram, “Let me clarify: all the content and channels we uploaded were based on an agreement, and they don’t simply disappear because of a change in management. It seems like ADOR is stalling for time to avoid public opinion. Since they haven’t apologized, we will release recordings, emails and materials in sequence, and file defamation lawsuits against CEO Kim Joo-young and ADOR’s Vice CEO Lee Do-kyung.”
By making all the videos on the Ban Heesoo channel public again, it appears that Shin Woo-seok is fully opposing ADOR’s stance, likely leading to a legal battle between the two parties.
Source: Naver
