Support surges for NewJeans after members' explosive YouTube live

K-pop girl group NewJeans / Courtesy of ADOR

Support for K-pop girl group NewJeans has grown across different communities, including entertainment and legal circles, following the group's public demands in a live YouTube broadcast amid a dispute between HYBE and Min Hee-jin, former CEO of their agency Ador.

On Wednesday, Dawon, a member of K-pop group WJSN, took to Instagram to show her support for NewJeans, posting a photo compilation of the quintet's album covers released so far on her Instagram Story, along with the simple caption, "Forever."

Following the upload, fans were quick to speculate that Dawon was publicly backing NewJeans, which is currently in internal conflicts with Ador's parent company HYBE.

NewJeans recently made headlines with an unexpected YouTube live broadcast Wednesday, in which the members openly raised issues such as mistreatment and workplace bullying within HYBE. The group also made a direct appeal for Min Hee-jin's return to her original role overseeing Ador by Sept. 25.

The original livestream and YouTube channel have since been deleted.

After being removed from her role as Ador's CEO on Aug. 27, Min was replaced by Kim Ju-young, a member of HYBE's board. While ADOR claimed that Min would continue as an internal director and remain involved in NewJeans' production, Min contested the decision, describing it as a "unilateral dismissal" made against her will.

Besides Dawon, Kia Tigers baseball player Kim Do-young also expressed his support for the quintet Thursday by posting of a T-shirt featuring NewJeans' rabbit mascot on his Instagram story.

From left are Instagram Stories posted by K-pop girl group WJSN member Dawon and Kia Tigers baseball player Kim Do-young, both speculated to be showing support for NewJeans amid its dispute with HYBE. Screenshots from Instagram

Legal professionals have also voiced support for Min, while also criticizing HYBE's unprofessional handling of the situation. Lee Hyun-gon, a judge-turned-lawyer, expressed concerns in a Facebook post, Thursday, accusing HYBE of intentionally dragging out legal issues against Min.

"HYBE's goal is not to resolve the disputes but to prolong them. Once one issue is settled, they raise another," he wrote.

Lee further criticized HYBE's behavior, likening their tactics to "gangster methods" often seen in redevelopment associations.

"They're using the excuse of being in a dispute to do whatever they want without following the law," Lee said. "After a ruling that Min's dismissal violated the shareholder agreement, they went ahead and dismissed her through the board of directors instead. Isn't the board's decision the same as HYBE's? It's just a way to pretend they're addressing the issue."

In addition, over 16,000 NewJeans fans also publicly declared their support for the group, issuing a statement Friday. "We can no longer remain silent. We support NewJeans' legitimate demands," the statement read.

Despite the growing backlash, newly appointed HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang addressed the group's demands from its live broadcast during Thursday's extraordinary shareholders' meeting, at which he officially succeeded Park Ji-won as CEO.

"It will take time, but we are responding calmly and in line with our principles. HYBE is a company that upholds its values and pursues ethical management, and this will not change," Lee said, according to reports, signaling that the company would not comply with NewJeans' request to reinstate Min.

Min filed a court injunction, Friday, to seek reelection as an internal director of Ador. The injunction demands that Ador hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to vote on her reelection, as her current three-year term concludes on Nov. 2.

Should the injunction be successful and Min is reelected to the board, she is expected to pursue her reinstatement as CEO.