Shortly afterward, the girl group gained significant support from both fans and industry experts.
For instance, Dawon of WJSN posted a compilation of their album covers with the simple caption “forever”. Fans believe this gesture indicates Dawon’s full support for NewJeans amid the internal conflict between HYBE and Min Hee Jin, the former CEO of its subsidiary Ador. Additionally, baseball player Kim Do Young subtly posted a photo of a T-shirt featuring the K-pop girl group’s rabbit mascot.
Many legal experts have also voiced their support for Min Hee Jin while criticizing HYBE’s unprofessional handling of the situation. Lawyer Lee Hyun Gon argued that the company is deliberately prolonging the legal issues against the former Ador CEO.
“HYBE’s goal is not to resolve disputes but to extend them. When one issue is resolved, they will raise another. They are using the disputes as an excuse to do whatever they want without following the law,” the lawyer argued.
Additionally, over 16,000 NewJeans fans have declared their support for the group, demanding that HYBE provide a proper explanation to both the group and its audience.
The five member’s decision to expose HYBE is believed to be related to Min Hee Jin’s dismissal from Ador, where she was replaced by Kim Ju Young, a board member of HYBE. While Ador claimed that Min Hee Jin remains the creative director and continues to be involved in the production process, she vehemently opposed this decision, calling it a “unilateral dismissal”.
At present, Min Hee Jin has sought a court order to seek reinstatement as CEO of Ador. She is requesting the company to hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to vote on her reinstatement. If approved by the court, Hee Jin could be re-elected to the board and possibly reinstated as CEO.
Meanwhile, Gil Gun, known as Lee Hyori’s dance teacher, spoke out about NewJeans’ involvement in a parliamentary audit
On October 17, Gil Gun shared her thoughts on social media, “The fact that things like this still happen… it’s truly a heartbreaking reality.“
She continued, “I only hope that the children won’t become scapegoats in the adults’ fight. As a senior fan of NewJeans, who has been quietly hoping everything will be okay, hearing the word ‘bullying’ breaks my heart. Those who haven’t experienced it won’t understand. They may be smiling, but who knows how much they’re crying inside.”
Gil Gun added, “These beautiful young people should be dancing, singing and spreading K-pop to the world, yet they might be feeling guilty and struggling during such a time. You’ve done nothing wrong. You’ve just been working hard. It’s always the children who get hurt by the greed of adults. I’ll be praying for you. Stay strong.”
She also shared articles about Hanni shedding tears during the parliamentary audit.
Besides, many other artists showed support for NewJeans, such as BTS’s Jungkook, S.E.S.’s Bada…