Recently, social media has been abuzz with the latest action from Jungkook. Specifically, through the Instagram account bowwow_bam of Bam, Jungkook’s beloved dog, the male idol unexpectedly posted 2 messages that conveyed the meaning: “Artists are not guilty“, and “Don’t use them”.
Therefore, the netizens believe that this is Jungkook’s subtle way of showing support for NewJeans members amidst the tensions between HYBE, ADOR, and former CEO Min Hee-jin.
To clarify the posts, BIGHIT MUSIC released a statement stating that Jungkook feels young artists should not be entangled in conflicts or used as a form of protection.
“We have confirmed that this was posted with the belief that, under no circumstances should young artists be dragged into disputes or used as shields”, the company wrote.
South Korean media outlet Edaily later reported that HYBE confirmed that day Jungkook intended to ask Min Hee-jin to stop involving NewJeans. However, the recent report from Yonhap News TV (YNT) has sparked concerns about the company’s response.
The report claims that BIGHIT did not verify whether Jungkook personally used the term “shield”, fueling speculation that the agency might be altering his message to retaliate against Min Hee-jin.
“BIGHIT’s explanation seemed to be aimed at former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin. However, the agency avoided answering whether the word ‘shield’ was directly used by Jungkook himself”, said YNT.
Additionally, online users claim that HYBE has a history of using BTS as a shield in its own corporate issues. The report gained popularity on the Korean internet forum, TheQoo, where netizens accused HYBE of allegedly manipulating Jungkook’s statement.
- “Release the call recording.”
- “A bunch of pathetic losers.”
- “You’re the ones using them as shields, lol. That company always uses BTS as their shield.”
- “Using artists as shields, how disgusting.”
- “If Jungkook actually said it, they would’ve just confirmed it. Why avoid answering?”
- “They didn’t hear it from Jungkook, lol. Don’t you know HYBE always lies? They say ‘it has been confirmed,’ but never, ‘Jungkook said.’ I’m so sick of their wordplay.”
- “LOL, everyone knows which company uses their artists as shields more than anyone. Who do you think came up with the word ‘shield’?”
- “Wow, this is seriously pathetic.”
Source: Krb, theqoo