In February, Huh Yunjin and Sakura appeared on the web variety show “Eunchae’s Star Diary”, hosted by Hong Eunchae.
In the video, the members responded to a fan’s question: “Among the three of you, who is closest to Chairman Bang Si-hyuk? Prompt mission! Let’s try texting Chairman Bang personally and see who receives a reply first.”
Before sending the message, Hong Eunchae nervously said, “I’m shaking so much. I don’t have to receive a reply so I don’t have to send it?” Huh Yunjin responded with excitement, “It looks so fun.”
Sakura messaged Chairman Bang asking, “Are you following our activities for the album ‘Easy’?” Huh Yunjin sent her message with a cheek heart selfie, saying, “It’s a bit out of the blue but thank you so much for preparing for this album!” Hong Eunchae wrote, “Have you seen our stage ‘Easy’? The weather’s cold nowadays, please be careful not to catch the cold.“
While they were chatting, Hong Eunchae excitedly announced, “I got a reply from Mr. Si-hyuk!” It took Hong Eunchae 40 minutes to receive Chairman Bang’s reply. Sakura received three messages, taking one minute less than Hong Eunchae. Huh Yunjin also received four messages at the 39-minute mark.
The video received positive reactions at the time, with comments like “This kind of game is so like LE SSERAFIM” and “The members’ reactions are so cute.”
However, with the emergence of allegations that Chairman Bang did not acknowledge NewJeans’ greetings, some netizens remarked, “Unlike with NewJeans, he seems to have a good relationship with LE SSERAFIM.“
On May 13th, a media outlet released a letter from NewJeans’ parents addressed to ADOR, highlighting the allegation of HYBE’s neglect of NewJeans. The parents claimed that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk ignored NewJeans’ greetings even when they met.
Furthermore, they criticized that despite NewJeans being prepared as HYBE’s first girl group, LE SSERAFIM debuted first, stating, “The broken promise of HYBE’s first girl group and the endless waiting and neglect of NewJeans members during their trainee days under Source Music is an unforgettable nightmare.”
Following the report, ADOR confirmed that the opinions expressed were indeed from NewJeans’ parents and that ADOR had conveyed them to HYBE via email.
HYBE countered “Contrary to the claims made by CEO Min’s side, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has never ignored greetings from NewJeans” and expressed regret over the involvement of NewJeans and their parents in the ongoing conflict.
Currently, HYBE and ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin are embroiled in a month-long management dispute. With NewJeans’ parents joining in to claim discriminatory treatment towards NewJeans, an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting for ADOR is scheduled for May 31st.
Source: nate
