BTS Jung Kook may have just voiced his opinion on NewJeans‘ current legal situation.
For the unversed, the feud between NewJeans and HYBE involves the reinstatement of Min Hee-jin as CEO of ADOR.
ADOR, a subsidiary of the HYBE Corporation — renowned for launching K-pop giants BTS — is exclusively home to the group NewJeans.
Now, one of HYBE’s biggest artists has seemingly commented on the matter.
On Friday, September 14, Jung Kook took to his pet dog Bam’s official Instagram account to share a photo of his furry friend, accompanied by the caption, “Artists are not guilty,” adorned with five heart emojis.
The heart colors matched those associated with NewJeans members, and the bicep emoji seemed to symbolize strength, prompting fans to interpret the post as a show of support for the group amid their ongoing dispute with the major industry player.
A few hours later, Jung Kook shared another photo of his Doberman, this time with the caption, “Don’t use them.” The posts quickly gained traction within the K-pop community.
Shortly thereafter, HYBE’s subsidiary BIGHT MUSIC, home to BTS, clarified the situation, explaining that Jung Kook’s posts were not meant to endorse NewJeans but to advocate for young artists.
“We have confirmed that his posts were intended to express that young artists should not be involved in conflicts or used as pawns,” the label explained, according to Soompi.
Jung Kook’s posts comes 3 days after NewJeans members themselves addressed HYBE directly in a YouTube live broadcast, urging the industry giant to reinstate their former CEO by September 25.
The group mentioned that they had a meeting with HYBE but couldn’t disclose all details due to contractual constraints. They expressed feeling sidelined by the company and criticized Min Hee-jin’s August 2024 departure as CEO.
NewJeans member Danielle spoke in English, saying, “Even before debuting as NewJeans and through all of the time that we spent together with CEO Min Hee-jin, all of us felt that the music we wanted to make and the kind of world we wanted to build together, our vision, was similar in so many ways. With CEO Min Hee-jin, we were able to prepare each and every task with sincere hearts, and I believe it shows in our work.”
“We hope that HYBE makes the wise choice to reinstate Min Hee-jin as the CEO of ADOR by September 25,” added NewJeans member Minji. “The ADOR that we want is an ADOR where the music production and company management are done by Min Hee-jin as the CEO. We make this request as the way to cohabitate peacefully with HYBE.”
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