During the May 17 hearing, HYBE launched a counterattack against ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, claiming her primary concern was not NewJeans’ well-being but their revenue. HYBE’s representative stated, “Min Hee-jin’s concern is not truly for NewJeans but for the money they earn.”
HYBE further alleged that Min had belittled NewJeans in private, quoting her as saying, “NewJeans wouldn’t have debuted without me. I can’t bear it because I feel sympathetic towards them.” HYBE accused Min of slandering and demeaning the group, citing statements like, “It’s very difficult to treat NewJeans as artists. It isn’t very nice to endure that and have to support them from behind. Thanks to me, NewJeans has become successful.”
Additionally, HYBE claimed that Min Hee-jin had been “gaslighting” the members of NewJeans, making them emotionally dependent on her. The representative elaborated, “Director Min required the members of NewJeans to stick to a script she had decided for public interviews. This is a form of gaslighting disguised as a mother-daughter relationship, where the artist is the passive party.”
These accusations have further fueled the ongoing conflict between HYBE and Min Hee-jin, shedding light on the internal struggles in the K-pop industry and raising questions about the ethical treatment of artists.
