After HYBE Group fired Min Hee Jin from the position of CEO of ADOR, and the NewJeans group suddenly opened a livestream to express their frustration and demand that ADOR return to its original state, a former public relations director of Big Hit Music (the management company of BTS and TXT) spoke out against HYBE.
The former CEO criticized HYBE for losing its roots and forgetting its humble beginnings. He wrote on his social media account:
“Today, I had a short Zoom call with the staff from the American PR firm I worked with when BTS first entered the US market. Even though they are now at different companies, they are all really nice people.
When all the Kpop artists failed in their promotional activities to penetrate the US market, and BTS was also pushed to penetrate the US, I was the one who contacted and connected with the only company that recognized their potential, that's why I love them so much.
Since then, BTS has been on American TV and has been on the rise… But once things were going well, that company was discarded like an old shoe for various reasons that people didn't like, didn't agree with.
They all asked me, “How is HYBE doing? How is Bang Si Hyuk doing?” And I just said, “I don’t know either.”
I believe that people who are blinded by success and lack gratitude will eventually face ruin.”
The former director said that he had worked with Chairman Bang Si Hyuk for many years and the Chairman's personality was still the same. He hinted that although Chairman Bang may have changed a little, his demeanor remained the same.
“NewJeans’ live stream was quite noisy. However, people who are currently working at HYBE or who have worked there have avoided mentioning it. I asked some of them and they all kept quiet,” the former Big Hit Music executive shared.
I think this is what happens when an entertainment company gets too big and the owners try to grow or reinvent the company into something else. Do we really need to push music to be part of a whole cultural entity or something more?
Having worked with Bang Si Hyuk, I know what kind of person he is. Even though he has changed a lot, the story still happens the same. So I can feel the atmosphere of everything.
NewJeans... what a shame”.
According to Allkpop, Korean netizens were even more confused by the situation, questioning HYBE's treatment of NewJeans despite the group's undeniable success.
Under a post about the former Big Hit Music public relations director's sharing on the online community theqoo, which attracted 84,000 views, many viewers harshly criticized HYBE and HYBE President Bang Si Hyuk.
On September 11, 5 members of the group NewJeans (Minji, Hanni Danielle, Haerin and Hyein) shocked everyone when they suddenly started a livestream on a newly created YouTube account.
NewJeans requests HYBE to reinstate Min Hee Jin and return ADOR to its original state before September 25.
However, after NewJeans' livestream, HYBE announced that they will always follow the principles. Korean media said that HYBE indirectly refused NewJeans' request.
