On the afternoon of September 11, NewJeans unexpectedly created the YouTube channel “nwjns” and opened a livestream without permission from their company. During the livestream, NewJeans members directly expressed its stance for the first time on the endless controversy between HYBE and Min Hee Jin.
After a period of strongly confronting HYBE, Min Hee Jin was removed from the position of CEO of ADOR by the group at the end of August this year. This was like a shock to NewJeans. The girls continuously expressed their confusion and fear about the current situation. NewJeans’ livestream started with a heavy atmosphere, the girls wore black clothes and put on gloomy, depressed expressions. Despite the binding contract with HYBE, NewJeans affirmed that Min Hee Jin was the one who created the group’s identity and could not be replaced.
Throughout the livestream, NewJeans shared that they felt isolated at the new ADOR, with no superiors they could trust. Hanni also expressed her shock at being ignored by a HYBE staff. The female idol hinted that a manager had asked other artists to ignore her. When she was greeting another group, the group’s manager told them to “ignore her”, making Hanni feel hurt.
In addition, NewJeans expressed their stance of not trusting HYBE and unconditionally siding with Min Hee Jin despite unpredictable consequences.
At the end of the livestream, NewJeans directly mentioned Bang Si Hyuk’s name, asking HYBE to return ADOR to its original state, “We want President Bang and HYBE to return ADOR to its original state, with management and production both under Min Hee Jin by September 25!” After the livestream, the YouTube channel “nwjns” was also deleted.
After NewJeans arbitrarily spoke up on the livestream, the Kpop fan community became concerned about the future of NewJeans. Officially declaring war on their agency will put NewJeans at stake. HYBE can completely freeze the group’s activities forever. If they want to leave the company, NewJeans will have to pay a huge compensation fee. Previously, many experts estimated that this number was up to 200 billion won for all 5 members.
