According to Allkpop, Kpop fans are concerned that NewJeans - a girl group that has consistently topped the brand reputation rankings, has experienced a sharp decline in rankings.
Member Minji, who rose to the Top 1 spot on the Kpop female idol chart late last year, has now fallen out of the Top 100 along with the remaining members of the group NewJeans (Hanni, Haerin, Danielle, Hyein).
Meanwhile, the group is still active in the fashion and advertising industry. NewJeans models and is an ambassador for dozens of brands such as Calvin Klein, Shinhan Investment Corp., Lotte Wellfood, Musinsa, Hyundai Duty Free Store, iPhone, Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, etc.
This September, the group was also named the top girl group at the 2024 Brand of the Year Awards, organized by the Korea Consumer Forum.
This sharp decline has sparked speculation. Many believe that NewJeans' ranking is influenced by the ongoing conflict between former CEO Min Hee Jin of ADOR Company (which manages NewJeans) and HYBE Group, which erupted in April.
A NewJeans fan decided to dig deeper by contacting a representative from the Korea Brand Reputation Research Institute directly, to ask about why NewJeans was eliminated from the Top 100.
During the chat, a representative from the institute told NewJeans fans: “Think about the Fifty Fifty case. Internally we consider it the Fifty Fifty case, which is why they were removed from the rankings.”
Fans wondered, “What does Fifty Fifty have to do with this? Are you saying you make internal decisions regardless of what criteria are used to judge brand reputation?”
“Yes, legally, we consider it the same as Fifty Fifty,” the plaintiff replied. But NewJeans fans argued, “NewJeans has never sued HYBE or taken any legal action like Fifty Fifty. How can it be the same? This is absurd.”
The post about NewJeans fans' call to the Brand Reputation Research Institute has attracted 53,000 reads and over 400 comments on online community theqoo.
Many netizens question the reliability of the Kpop idol and group reputation rankings.
