NewJeans' fans send third letter to ADOR CEO, HYBE

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NewJeans' fans send third letter to ADOR CEO, HYBE

Published: 30 Sep. 2024, 18:53

Girl group NewJeans at Inspire Arena in Incheon on July 21 [NEWS1]

NewJeans' fans sent a third open letter to ADOR CEO Kim Ju-young and HYBE on Monday, demanding the reinstatement of former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin.

The letter was reportedly signed by 5,000 NewJeans fans and was organized by Team Bunnies, one of the largest fan club groups for NewJeans with 17,900 followers on X, formerly Twitter. NewJeans' fandom is named Bunnies.

This open letter marks the third letter that NewJeans' fans have delivered to ADOR and HYBE since the ongoing dispute between HYBE and Min began in April.

The latest letter follows the recent controversial appearance of a Seoul Shinmun reporter on a local CBS radio show on Sept. 25, where he claimed that a HYBE PR representative badmouthed NewJeans and Min and played a recording of a phone call with the representative.

“The HYBE PR representative attempted to generate negative press against NewJeans, denouncing the group’s achievements in Japan and saying that ‘NewJeans is being gaslit by Min,’” the letter said.

The fan group called on CEO Kim to take proper measures to protect NewJeans and warned of potential legal action if no action is taken.

“This is a crucial time for NewJeans as it is seeing significant growth in its third year,” the letter said.

“If Kim continues to ignore fans’ opinions and fails to take any measures, we will file a lawsuit against her for professional malpractice.”

The group also believes that Kim’s appointment as ADOR CEO led to the suspension of the girl group’s fan meetings and halted the production of a new album, resulting in property damages amounting to tens of billions of won.

Team Bunnies is currently recruiting members for the lawsuit against CEO Kim on X as of Sunday.

The ongoing dispute between HYBE and Min has persisted for nearly six months, with the girl group consistently showing support for Min, starting with a surprise livestream on Sept. 11.

During the livestream, the girl group made a public demand for HYBE to reinstate Min as the CEO of ADOR. ADOR subsequently announced on Sept. 25 that it would not be reinstating former CEO Min but may let her stay as a board member.

To find out more about NewJeans, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]