On September 12, a NewJeans’ fan organization, @NewJeansSTRM (Team Bunnies), published a long official statement, explaining their lawsuit against HYBE and including various allegations against the agency.
The full statement is as below:
“Hello, this is Team Bunnies.
We would like to address the ongoing lawsuit and clarify some of the information currently being mentioned by HYBE or the media, as well as share a few facts with you.
First, regarding the ongoing lawsuit, we have been informed that an investigation began yesterday (the 11th) at the Seoul Yongsan Police Station, and it is expected that both the plaintiff and the defendant will be questioned sometime in October.
It’s important to note that it is not only one particular media outlet, as mentioned in certain online communities, that has provided us with information. There are reports that were submitted without evidence, as well as many pieces of information that have not been disclosed at the request of the informants.
In May, HYBE intentionally distributed false information to the press, and when an article was written to correct this, they immediately visited the media outlets to protest. But they didn’t stop at protesting.
According to journalists and media sources, HYBE disclosed defamatory comments about Min Hee-jin, CEO of NewJeans, and also shared audit reports and internal documents that should not have been made public.
HYBE has committed illegal acts by protesting against journalists who wrote articles unfavorable to HYBE, holding direct meetings with them, and intentionally distributing audit reports and internal materials to journalists. The defamatory statements and audit report details provided by HYBE to the reporters were distributed word for word to the media and online communities. The “gaslighting” issue reported in the media today is another example of this.
Yesterday (the 11th) at 4 p.m., we submitted additional evidence for the lawsuit and publicly shared a summary of some of the reports provided by journalists. Within less than an hour of making the information public, we were informed by multiple journalists that ‘HYBE’s people are protesting to the editorial desk.’
Interestingly, when one media outlet covered HYBE’s PR director Cho Sung-hoon, they received threats. Later, this afternoon (the 12th), we were also informed by our contacts and lawyers that HYBE is aware and taking action, claiming that we are ridiculing CCO Park Tae-hee and PR director Cho Sung-hoon by mentioning them by name.
Is HYBE really an entertainment company? While they have failed to properly protect their artists for over six months, it is astonishing how quickly they are able to act when their PR director and Chief Communications Officer are mentioned by name without a single falsehood.
We are preparing to submit additional evidence for the existing lawsuit and are also collecting materials for an additional lawsuit. Once everything is ready, we will provide another update through Twitter.
There is still much information that has not been made public. We continue to receive reports from insiders and journalists. Thank you.”
Source: X
