2025-03-07 Chosun Biz Coverage of Injunction Court

Warning: The following articles were written by HYBE-affiliated outlets and contain factual untruths and malicious misinterpretations of facts when cross-examined against first-hand sources. 

Please see [Analysis] 2025-03-07 Chosun Biz Coverage of Injunction Court for the debunking of claims within these articles

Source: HYBE reveals CCTV footage amid controversy over Hanni's treatment by IRIS manager - CHOSUNBIZ 

[Analysis] 2025-03-07 Chosun Biz Coverage of Injunction Court

HYBE reveals CCTV footage amid controversy over Hanni's treatment by IRIS manager

HYBE shares video evidence to counter claims regarding Hanni's treatment by IRIS staff

By Jang Woo-jeong

The largest domestic entertainment agency, HYBE, under ADOR, revealed a video of the members of IRIS greeting Hanni at a 90-degree angle on the 7th.

On May 27, 2024, an IRIS manager, met in a space exclusively for artists at HYBE's headquarters, told the members not to greet Hanni and to "ignore" her, directly refuting NewJeans' claim that HYBE deleted the CCTV footage.

ChosunBiz reconstructed a screenshot from a video released by ADOR on the 7th. The Ailet members bow at a 90-degree angle to greet the NewJeans members as they pass in the hallway. The short-haired girl on the right is NewJeans Hanni.

The so-called "ignore" incident is cited as one of the reasons why Hanni attended the parliamentary inspection in October last year and why NewJeans claimed contract termination. To tell an artist to ignore someone constitutes malicious exclusion and bullying behavior, especially since the agency, ADOR, did not take any action against the manager or Belift Lab.

The incident began when Hanni claimed during a YouTube live broadcast in September last year that she was told to "ignore" by an IRIS manager. Subsequently, a complaint regarding this incident was filed with the labor authorities.

On this day, ADOR presented key arguments during the "preservation of agency status and prohibition of advertising contract signing" hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, revealing the CCTV footage. The footage shows three members of IRIS greeting Hanni at a 90-degree angle as they entered the hallway. It also captured a scene where they greeted NewJeans' Danielle at a 90-degree angle.

However, the CCTV footage did not have audio recording capabilities, so it could not be confirmed whether the IRIS manager made the remark to "ignore".

When NewJeans Hanni says, “I don’t exactly remember, I’m not sure,” former representative Min asks, “Ignore it, this? Did everyone ignore you?” /Courtesy of ADOR’s oral argument capture.

There were also claims that the source of the remark to "ignore" did not come from the IRIS manager, but from Min Hee-jin, the former head of ADOR. ADOR disclosed the KakaoTalk messages between Hanni and former representative Min in court, in which Hanni conveyed the situation, stating, "Four minutes came out of the styling room, and I heard that their manager told me to just ignore and pass by." She also added, "I don't remember if those words were exactly correct; it was just something along those lines," explaining that the words she heard might not be accurate.

In response, former representative Min asked several times, "Ignore, this? Everyone ignored you? All members of IRIS ignored you? Did the manager tell you not to greet them?" Hanni replied, "I’m not sure."

A lawyer representing ADOR claimed, "Hanni herself said it was not a big deal, but former representative Min escalated the issue to 'ignore.'" They added, "The fact that this issue was transformed into grounds for terminating the exclusive contract is nothing more than a fabrication of false justification."

Source: ADOR counters New Jeans' claims with CCTV and KakaoTalk evidence in court - CHOSUNBIZ 

ADOR counters New Jeans' claims with CCTV and KakaoTalk evidence in court

By OSEN

The members of the group New Jeans (NJZ) claimed that ADOR intends to restrict all their entertainment activities, while ADOR responded to these claims.

On the morning of the 7th, the first hearing date for the 'Preservation of Agency Status and Prohibition of Advertising Contract' case filed by ADOR against the five members of New Jeans (NJZ) took place at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul.

On this day, all members of New Jeans (NJZ) — Minji, Hanni, Daniel, Haerin, and HAEIN — attended the court in person, and ADOR argued that there is no reason for the exclusive contract to be terminated.

In particular, ADOR responded by releasing a video regarding the so-called 'Ignore' incident. The 'Ignore' incident refers to a personnel controversy involving an Ailet manager towards New Jeans, claiming, "On May 27, 2024, the Ailet manager met with Ailet members in the artists' exclusive area at HYBE headquarters and instructed them not to greet Hanni and to 'ignore' her, and HYBE deleted the CCTV footage. Additionally, some Ailet members mocked New Jeans with their words and actions."

ADOR, which released the CCTV footage of the incident, disclosed scenes from the day Ailet and New Jeans members encountered each other. The video clearly captured Ailet members bowing 90 degrees to New Jeans' Hanni and Daniel as they passed by. Furthermore, ADOR presented evidence of a KakaoTalk conversation between former representative Min and Hanni, stating, "The 'ignore' remark came not from Hanni but first from Min."

According to the KakaoTalk conversation, Hanni conveyed, "I heard the manager over there say to just ignore it as I came out of the styling room after 4 minutes," explaining the situation, while adding, “I don’t remember exactly if those were the words, but it was something like that.” Then, former representative Min asked several times, "Ignore, this?", “Did everyone ignore you?” “Did all Ailet members ignore you?” “Did your manager tell you not to greet them?” to which Hanni replied, "I'm not sure."

In response, ADOR's lawyer noted, "Hanni herself said it was not a big deal, but former representative Min escalated the issue to 'ignore.'" He pointed out that “this issue has merely morphed into a pretext for terminating the exclusive contract.”

Additionally, in response to New Jeans' claim that "HYBE, the parent company of ADOR, had feelings of inferiority or jealousy regarding the success of New Jeans, which Min had planned and produced, and deliberately discriminated, excluded, and attacked them," ADOR countered, "HYBE acquired 100% equity of ADOR from Source Music for 5 billion won, fully covering New Jeans' training and education expenses, and invested a total of 21 billion won, including 16 billion won from two rounds of paid-in capital increase. This is an unprecedented investment for a single group."

Furthermore, Kim Juyoung, the representative present at the hearing that day, appealed, "The reason for the company applying for this provisional disposition is solely because we want to be with the New Jeans members."

Meanwhile, the legal representatives of Minji, Hanni, Daniel, Haerin, and HAEIN stated during the arguments that "ADOR has admitted that it has neither the will nor the ability to protect and nurture the members and has instead destroyed the foundation and achievements of their entertainment activities," adding that "without any reflection, it intends to bind them like slaves and drive them to extinction. The members' termination notices are legitimate, legal, and effective immediately upon notification. Since the exclusive contract has been terminated, this provisional disposition should be dismissed."

Member Daniel raised her hand towards the end of the hearing and said, “The manager, representative, and stylist I trusted and believed in are no longer at ADOR. I don’t know who can protect us if we go back there. I’m 21 years old and don’t want to experience that again over the next five years. So, no matter how the outcome turns out, I want to emphasize that I absolutely do not want to be with ADOR,” while shedding tears.