Fans of the girl group NewJeans have taken action by sending a ‘fax bomb’ to the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee members of both ruling and opposition parties. Their demand? To include Bang Si-hyuk, along with other key executives of HYBE, as witnesses for the state audit. This surge of action came after NewJeans made a statement on September 11th, alleging bullying within HYBE. The fans urged the Committee to investigate and address “HYBE’s attempt to undermine NewJeans.” With the state audit approaching, the pressure on HYBE’s leadership is intensifying.

According to sources within the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee, a constant influx of faxes from fans is being sent to both ruling and opposition members. An official from a ruling party member's office shared, “Over 400 faxes have arrived,” explaining that, “We’re running out of paper, so we’re using the reverse side of the paper to sort through each message carefully.”

The faxes request the inclusion of key HYBE staff members, including Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, CEO Lee Jae-sang, and Chief Public Relations Officer Park Tae-hee, as witnesses for the audit. These faxes emphasize the ongoing management dispute between HYBE and former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin. The fax campaign was coordinated via an online community, where users shared contact details of Committee members under the title, “Fax bombardment from 2 to 4 PM.”

The list of witnesses for the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism’s inspection, scheduled for the 7th, includes YG Entertainment’s CEO Yang Min-seok, SM Entertainment’s CEO Jang Chul-hyuk, and JYP Entertainment’s CEO Jung Wook. However, regarding HYBE, only Chief Human Resources Officer Kim Joo-young and NewJeans member Hanni (as a reference person) are set to appear before the Environment and Labor Committee over issues of "poor handling of idol bullying." HYBE does not have any representatives listed as witnesses for the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee, leading some NewJeans fans to voice frustration: “If other major entertainment CEOs are attending, why isn’t HYBE, which faces the most controversy, showing up?”

A member of the Committee remarked on the situation: “Lawmakers are deliberating thoroughly, but it’s not easy to summon someone just because they’re a hot topic. There’s a concern that HYBE executives may evade thorough questioning during the short Q&A session, making it difficult to uncover the full truth.” Another member told Hankyoreh, “It's reached the point where our cell phones are freezing due to the volume of messages.”

On September 11th, NewJeans made headlines on a YouTube channel by revealing incidents of bullying within their company, calling for the reinstatement of former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin. In the interview, NewJeans member Hanni recounted an incident in the HYBE building, where a manager of another HYBE artist instructed others to “ignore her,” raising further concerns about internal relations. Following this revelation, fans filed complaints through the National Petition Center, amplifying their calls for an investigation.