K-netizens react to journalist report that HYBE attempted to undermine NewJeans' success

AKP STAFF

The entertainment industry was abuzz on September 25, when a Seoul Shinmun reporter exposed HYBE for attempting to undermine NewJeans' success.

Reporter Jang Hyung Woo explained during the CBS radio show 'Kim Hyun Jung's News Show' that he had received a request from HYBE to amend an article he wrote about NewJeans' Tokyo Dome performance. He explained, “I wrote an article about HYBE’s stock price while covering NewJeans’ Tokyo Dome performance on July 17th. Following that, I received a request from HYBE to amend the article. While fact corrections should be accepted, it didn’t make sense for them to try to distort and downplay the artist’s achievements."

He added, "The person who called was HYBE’s head of public relations and the person responsible for communications. HYBE operates under a label system, but departments like accounting and legal matters are handled by the parent company, HYBE. This person is also supposed to promote NewJeans. I’ve met countless PR managers, but it was my first time hearing someone say that an artist from their own subsidiary isn’t doing well or didn’t perform as expected."

Reporter Jang Hyung Woo expressed confusion, believing that HYBE was actively trying to undermine NewJeans' success. In response to this revelation, Korean netizens intensified their criticism of HYBE.

They commented:

"Why are they going this far... Weren't they supposed to care about NewJeans?"

"LOL, they treat female streamers so well, though, LOL."

"When you go to HYBE’s homepage, it shows Lee Hyun, BTS, TXT, ENHYPEN, I-LAND, LE SSERAFIM, Beomgyu, Baekho, Hwang Min Hyun, SEVENTEEN, fromis_9, Zico, NewJeans, &TEAM, KATSEYE, and more. I remember wondering why NewJeans was listed so far down the page. It’s not even in debut order."

"HYBE's Bang Si Hyuk and Min Hee Jin were a bad match from the start... They're completely incompatible. If a HYBE employee is bashing NewJeans to this extent, it means the higher-ups don’t just dislike them—they don't even see them as valuable. This doesn't seem like one person's rogue behavior, but a perception shared by the entire company."

"HYBE, you say you care about NewJeans?"

"At this point, shouldn’t the government be investigating HYBE for what’s been exposed? They're still minors."

"Even so, they’re artists from their own company, so why..."

"Why are they acting like this? If their artists succeed, it’s good for the company too. Why is it so weird?"

"If they want to avoid being disliked, they should stop doing things that make people hate them. Sigh. Both NewJeans and Min (Hee Jin) seem like the type who would act arrogantly and do annoying things behind the scenes, thinking they’re better than others."