https://www.ilyo.co.kr/?ac=article_view&entry_id=486385
Jan 31, 2025 12:07 KST
No Protection for Members Who Are Legally 'Minors'... "Evidence Found of HYBE and ADOR Spreading Tabloid Tales About Members"
[Ilyo Shinmun] The parents of NewJeans members (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) have joined forces as the girl group establishes a separate 'official' account to communicate directly with fans amid their contract termination dispute with ADOR (HYBE's subsidiary label). With members Haerin (born 2006) being 18 and Hyein (born 2008) being 16 years old, their parents, as legal guardians, appear to be taking a 'two-track' approach alongside the members.
On January 31st, the parents of NewJeans members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein created an Instagram account 'Jeanz PR' (@jeanz_pr) and released their first statement.
On January 31st, the parents of NewJeans members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein created an Instagram account 'Jeanz PR' (@jeanz_pr) and released their first statement. They explained that "this account will be temporary, created out of necessity to represent our position in the dispute with HYBE," separate from the members' official account 'Jeanz For Free' (jeanzforfree).
They added another reason for the account's creation, stating "regrettably, we received information that HYBE and ADOR are circulating tabloid tales to various journalists ahead of the injunction lawsuit to spread false articles targeting the members."
The parents explained, "Without an official channel to convey our position, we tried multiple times to communicate the facts through direct interviews with various media outlets and through journalists we knew," adding "While we're grateful that some outlets published our statements as they were, they were very few. Even when we attempted distribution through an PR agency, we faced many difficulties in conveying our position without distortion, including instances of misleading headlines."
They pointed out that "while the members' stories are either distorted, framed negatively, or limited to minimal coverage, HYBE and ADOR are publishing hundreds of articles daily through various media outlets, including partisan internet media, without going through proper fact-checking or allowing the right of rebuttal - processes that should be standard in journalism - instead spreading false information or articles that only represent HYBE and ADOR's positions."
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NewJeans members' parents explained through their social media account that "we had no choice but to create this account to represent our position in the dispute with HYBE." (Image is an English translation by @NJBUBBLEGUM.)
They continued, "While we understand that many people may be tired of this prolonged dispute," they added, "however, please understand that this account will mainly share content that members find difficult to communicate directly, and we need this channel as their only current representatives to correct factual inaccuracies in this urgent situation."
Previously, NewJeans notified ADOR of their contract termination on November 29, 2024. Their claim was that during the dispute between HYBE and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, which had been ongoing since April of the same year, malicious rumors about NewJeans members were spread, and private information that 'only company insiders would know' was leaked to the media, yet neither HYBE nor ADOR took active measures to protect the members. Moreover, when suspicions arose that HYBE was responsible for leaking this information, they argued that their trust relationship with ADOR, essentially one entity with HYBE, had irreparably broken down.
At the time, among the members, Haerin and Hyein were 18 and 16 years old respectively, qualifying as minors under child welfare act. Even in light of the entertainment industry's recent strict stance on agencies' duty to protect child and youth entertainers, the company cannot avoid criticism for neglecting its responsibilities as an agency, regardless of contract issues.