NewJeans’ fandom, Bunnies, has called for Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of HYBE, to be summoned as a witness for the National Assembly Inspection, following news that NewJeans’ Hanni and ADOR CEO Ju Young Kim were summoned as witnesses and references for workplace harassment inquiry.
This is an inspection conducted after NewJeans’ Hanni mentioned that she overheard a manager of a group under HYBE telling the artists to ignore her.
In particular, the fandom mentioned the summon of Hanni in a statement on September 1, before saying, “We once again urge the standing committee members of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to reconsider this matter, which has garnered significant public sympathy. HYBE’s mass production of content and dehumanization of artists under the guise of globalizing K-POP is far from successful and will only lead to long-term stagnation and crisis for the industry. The adoption of this issue into the National Assembly inspection and the summoning of Bang Si-hyuk, who is responsible for the current problem, is the last chance to prevent further issues. Please take this seriously and understand that this is a request made in earnest on behalf of those who care about culture.”
“During NewJeans’ short promotional period, the frustration and helplessness felt by the members and Min Hee-jin, the former CEO, have weighed heavily on our hearts. It is heartbreaking to realize that a single entertainment company’s power has reached the media and politics. However, the reason we cannot back down is that if we give up, there will be no future for the artists”, they also wrote.
Finally, they concluded, “Until the final additional witness summoning period, we will do our best to have Bang Si-hyuk summoned to the National Assembly inspection to take responsibility for the corruption and illegal activities he and his associates have committed and to promise corrective action. We also ask for the continued interest of Bunnies, other supporting fandoms, and the general public, and we are always deeply grateful for your support.”
On August 2, the legal representative of Bunnies (fandom of NewJeans) stated, “Our office, on behalf of Bunnies, has filed a complaint with the Seoul Yongsan Police Station against HYBE, Source Music, and Dispatch for violating the Personal Information Protection Act and the Information and Communications Network Act due to the information leak and defamation caused by articles.”
They continued, “Even though HYBE is the parent company of ADOR, they cannot unlawfully collect or leak personal information about the CEO of its subsidiary or its artists, nor can they leak confidential information acquired through their duties to third parties. The same applies to Source Music, another subsidiary of HYBE. Furthermore, articles written based on illegally collected and leaked personal information are being spread online, leading to severe defamation of NewJeans, with the harm continuing to grow.”
The statement emphasized, “The continuous false accusations and criticism against NewJeans, stemming from these illegal acts, are causing significant damage and harm to the young artists. The Bunnies fandom has united to rectify this through the strict application of the law, leading to the filing of this complaint.”
Earlier, Dispatch and other media outlets reported on parts of a KakaoTalk conversation between former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, an ADOR executive referred to as A, and a shaman. These reports also claimed that Min Hee-jin had poached trainees from Source Music, based on materials from the time when NewJeans members were Source Music trainees.
Lawyer Lee Hyun-gon from Saeol Law Office commented, “If the leaked KakaoTalk conversation was provided by internal HYBE personnel, it constitutes a serious breach of personal information. Writing an article knowing the intent behind this leak could also be considered an illegal act.”
An anonymous legal expert added, “Reporting false information without the consent of the parties involved, using videos and data that only an insider could access, could be considered defamation and an infringement of personal rights. The company responsible for leaking this information may also be in violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.”
Finally, a representative from NewJeans’ fandom stated, “Following this complaint, we will continue to file third-party complaints against malicious posts related to NewJeans. We have already classified and collected thousands of such posts and have hired two additional professional lawyers to file complaints in order of their likelihood of prosecution.”
The representative also mentioned, “We will protect NewJeans at all costs and aim to make it clear to HYBE that the fandom is a force to be reckoned with. We are also preparing several other actions beyond this complaint, which we cannot disclose at this time.”
Source: Daum, Naver
