On Oct 18th, NewJeans‘ fan group “Team Bunnies” posted on X (formerly Twitter), “We received information from an anonymous source that Weverse CEO Choi Joon-won’s selection as a witness for the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee audit scheduled for Oct 21st has been withdrawn.” The fan group added that the exact reason for this withdrawal remains unclear but could be due to either the submission of a non-attendance statement or the withdrawal of the witness request by a member of the committee.
The fan group further highlighted that during a previous audit by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on Oct 7th, Weverse had faced multiple inquiries from lawmakers regarding issues such as unfair refund processes for defective products, frequent delivery problems, defective goods, random photocards and product pushing tactics. They criticized Weverse for its insincere responses, repeatedly saying “We don’t know” or “We’ll check later”.
Team Bunnies shared, “As recently reported, Weverse has been attempting to introduce a new mandatory paid membership system, which makes it clear that a thorough audit is necessary from the Political Affairs Committee. HYBE has operated a system that deceives fans and exploits consumers, and the announcement of a new paid membership system with fees as high as 60% has been shocking news for all fandoms using Weverse.”
Team Bunnies continued, “While the reason for the withdrawal of the witness is unclear, it is truly regrettable that the Political Affairs Committee audit, which could have provided meaningful answers for K-pop consumers, has been canceled. HYBE executives, including Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, are quick to abuse the media and legal systems to wear out others when it suits them, but when called upon by a national institution, they evade it with excuses, which is utterly disgusting. It is hard to comprehend how Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang can show such a complete lack of accountability regarding these controversies.”
Team Bunnies emphasized, “We hope that Kim Tae-ho, CEO of Belift Lab and HYBE COO, who is scheduled to attend the comprehensive Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee audit on Oct 24th, will not evade attendance or provide insincere answers as a witness. As he will be attending in place of Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang, we urge him to answer the questions with sincerity.”
On Oct 17th, The Korea Herald reported that Weverse is set to introduce a new paid service on Dec 1st. Allegations have surfaced that HYBE is pressuring over 130 music labels to join the new service.
According to Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jung-mun, Weverse emailed 130 partner labels on Sep 26th that the subscription-based “digital membership” would become mandatory starting Dec 1st, offering exclusive digital benefits to fans through a monthly subscription model for all artist communities on Weverse.
Source: Top Star News
