Director Shin Woo-seok, known for his work with NewJeans, has issued a rebuttal against ADOR’s recent statements regarding the deletion of NewJeans-related videos. 

On September 3rd, Shin took to his social media to clarify the situation and defend his position.

Shin explained that during a phone call earlier that day, he confirmed the agreement that had been made regarding the uploading of the Director’s Cut videos. According to Shin, the three parties involved in the production had agreed to release the Director’s Cut on the Dolphin Kidnappers channel to benefit the fans. He accused ADOR’s current management of falsely claiming that Dolphin Kidnappers uploaded the Director’s Cut without permission.

Shin criticized ADOR for involving unrelated third parties in their statement, accusing the company of engaging in misleading media play. He argued that this behavior not only disregards industry norms but also breaks the fundamental trust essential in business relationships.

Shin also revealed that it was ADOR who requested the deletion of the videos, stating that videos with copyrights and image rights belonging to ADOR could only be released on official accounts and not on third-party channels. He recounted that on a Sunday evening, ADOR had unilaterally demanded that the videos be deleted by Monday morning, threatening to send a formal notice and claim double the service fee as a penalty if the videos were not removed. Shin questioned whether ADOR had even known about the existence of the Ban Hee-soo channel, which hosted the videos, before ordering the deletion.

Shin expressed his frustration, stating, “What director in their right mind would destroy their own work? I had no reason to do so.” He explained that the Ban Hee-soo channel was an extension of the "Ditto" project he directed and was created voluntarily, without any compensation, for the fans. He questioned why he would suddenly delete the content without any motive.

Shin further noted that Dolphin Kidnappers had worked hard to create a good music video and had volunteered to do so without pay for the sake of the project’s quality and the fans. Despite ADOR’s unreasonable demands, which contradicted their prior agreements, Dolphin Kidnappers complied and deleted the videos.

In a closing remark, Shin addressed ADOR directly, saying, “Without knowing the original agreements, why are you making Dolphin Kidnappers out to be contract violators and spreaders of false information? Whether this is because I wrote a petition, refused to produce a music video for HYBE, or because you are trying to erase NewJeans, stop distorting the truth with dirty media play. I’m sure you’ll do it again.”

Shin Woo-seok’s strong response comes after ADOR released a statement on their official Twitter account earlier that day, claiming that the Director’s Cut of the "ETA" music video posted by Dolphin Kidnappers included edits that had previously caused disagreements with an advertiser, and that it was uploaded without ADOR’s approval.

The controversy has sparked disappointment among NewJeans fans, who have shown great appreciation for the collaboration between Shin’s unique directing style and the group’s concept. The Ban Hee-soo channel, which Shin confirmed was inspired by NewJeans' fan club name "Bunnies," has now become a point of contention as fans express their frustration over the videos’ removal.

Full Statement from Director Shin Woo-seok

What on earth are they talking about?

Today, I reconfirmed the agreed-upon details regarding the upload of the Director's Cut via a phone call. At the time, the three companies involved in the production agreed to release the Director's Cut on the Dolphin Kidnappers channel for the fans.

However, the current ADOR management is making false claims that Dolphin Kidnappers uploaded the Director's Cut without permission. Why are they bringing in unrelated third parties to engage in media play in their statement? This not only disregards the unwritten rules of the advertising industry but also betrays the basic trust that is fundamental in business.

It was ADOR that requested the deletion, claiming that videos with copyrights and image rights belonging to ADOR could only be released on official accounts and not on third-party channels. On Sunday evening, they unilaterally threatened that if the videos were not deleted by Monday morning, they would send a formal notice to Dolphin Kidnappers and demand double the service fee as a penalty. And now, they’re saying this? Could it be that they only became aware of the existence of the Ban Hee-soo channel after the deletion?

Logically speaking, what director in their right mind would destroy their own work? What reason would I have to do such a thing? The Ban Hee-soo channel was an extension of the work "Ditto" that I directed, and I voluntarily created the channel and videos for the fans without any compensation. So, are they saying that I suddenly deleted everything without any motive?

Dolphin Kidnappers worked hard to create a good music video and volunteered to work without pay for the sake of the project's quality and for the fans. And despite ADOR’s unfair demands—which overturned previous agreements—we still deleted the videos.

Without knowing the details of the original agreement, why are they making Dolphin Kidnappers out to be violators of the contract and spreaders of false information? Whether it’s because I wrote a petition, refused to produce a music video for HYBE, or because they’re trying to erase NewJeans, let’s stop distorting the truth with dirty media play. Even if this happens again, they’ll probably do the same.

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