Min Hee-jin’s Side: ‘NewJeans Members Also Protest and Take Legal Action Against HYBE for Leaking Trainee Videos’

On July 23, Min Hee-jin’s side stated to Newsen, “The content is false. We plan to take legal action.”

Dispatch reported on this day that Source Music has been preparing to debut a new girl group under the project name ‘N Team’ since 2018, aiming for a third-quarter 2021 debut. According to the report, the five members of NewJeans (Minji, Hani, Hyein, Danielle, Haerin) were trainees at Source Music, and HYBE CBO Min Hee-jin, who joined as a creator for ‘N Team’ in 2019, repeatedly demanded expanded authority (R&R) and acted based on advice from a shaman. As a result, the five members of NewJeans were transferred to HYBE’s new label Ador (established in November 2021).

The report included captures of private conversations involving Min Hee-jin and videos of NewJeans members during their trainee period.

In response, Ador stated, “We plan to take legal action against HYBE for providing sources by manipulating personal messages,” and added, “NewJeans members and their parents are protesting against HYBE for unauthorized release of trainee videos and personal portraits.”

Meanwhile, on July 15, Source Music, the agency of Le Sserafim, filed a lawsuit for damages worth approximately 5 billion KRW against Ador’s Min Hee-jin, claiming she interfered with their business and defamed their reputation.

At a press conference held on April 25, Min Hee-jin explained the background of her deteriorated relationship with HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and CEO Park Ji-won, mentioning Source Music and their group Le Sserafim. Min Hee-jin claimed that HYBE initially planned to debut NewJeans as their first girl group, but CEO Park Ji-won reversed this decision and debuted Le Sserafim first.

In response, Source Music issued an official statement on April 26, expressing deep regret over the situation, stating, “We strongly request that such incidents do not recur in the future, as mentioning other artists’ real names disrespectfully in public with false information and rude expressions is unacceptable.”

Source Music stated, “This has led to numerous malicious posts and indiscriminate speculations based on unilateral claims that are not factually accurate,” and added, “The false claim that Le Sserafim harmed other artists and the act of forming public opinion with false information as if it were true is a clear dissemination of false facts.”

HYBE also explained that the debut of NewJeans was delayed unintentionally due to the process of transferring contracts when the members moved from Source Music to Ador. They stated, “The debut schedule of NewJeans was delayed due to R&R disputes between Source Music and Min Hee-jin, which resulted in Le Sserafim debuting first. As the debut timings of both teams followed closely, there wasn’t enough time to promote each adequately, so we decided to set a minimal promotion period.”

Previously, HYBE filed a lawsuit against Min Hee-jin for breach of duty on April 25. In response, Min Hee-jin held an urgent press conference on April 25, denying the allegations and stating that the takeover of management rights was impossible due to the share structure. She further refuted the claims, stating that she had not committed any breach of duty. On July 9, she underwent her first round of questioning at Yongsan Police Station for about 8 hours and 25 minutes. The police plan to conduct further investigations soon.