On the morning of July 23, Dispatch news agency posted an article with the content that CEO Min Hee Jin "stole" the NewJeans members who were trainees at Source Music to the new company ADOR and debuted the group.
Dispatch posted a video of 7 group N project trainees (including 5 current NewJeans members) practicing performing the song "Attention" (NewJeans' debut song) as Source Music trainees from March 2021.
According to specific reports, in 2019, Min Hee Jin initially participated in Source Music's group N trainee training project with the role of building brand image. But she has requested four times to increase her powers, including being in charge of music and theater.
HYBE President Bang Si Hyuk, HYBE CEO Park Ji Won, and Source Music CEO So Seong Jin accepted Min Hee Jin's request as much as possible.
However, Min Hee Jin delayed the launch of group N by intentionally not providing final data and delaying the meeting.
Finally, HYBE and Source Music's plans to launch group N in the third quarter of 2021 and group S (currently LE SSERAFIM) in the first quarter of 2022 were canceled.
Group N transferred to ADOR , then debuted with today's 5-member NewJeans lineup (Minji and Hanni were trainees at Source Music. Haerin and Danielle transferred to Source Music from other companies. Hyein was hired by CEO So Seong Jin personally chose).
During this process, Min Hee Jin actively consulted with the magicians, choosing the official lineup by sending photos of the trainees and asking strange questions.
As soon as Dispatch reported the news, ADOR quickly denied "stealing" trainees from Source Music company. ADOR stated: "The information mentioned is false. We intend to take legal action."
An ADOR official added, “ NewJeans members as well as their parents are currently protesting against HYBE due to the illegal release of the trainee's video. This is a breach of contract.
This is not true and we plan to take legal action against HYBE - the source and leaker of personal portraits."
