KOREAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DROPS ADOR CASE
Added 2024-10-04 07:58:03 +0000 UTCThey refuse to call Hybe officials. They said the ongoing case will make it difficult.
It seems, they are also uninviting Hanni of NewJeans.
Fans of the girl group New Jeans are launching an intense campaign, flooding the offices of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee with faxes and emails. They are urging the committee to summon Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of HYBE, and other key executives as witnesses for an upcoming state audit. Despite this pressure, the committee has reportedly decided not to call them as witnesses, stating that the ongoing lawsuit related to the issue makes it too sensitive for the National Assembly to get involved.
A senior official from the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee explained in a phone interview with Money Today's The300 on the 4th that the lawsuit filed by former Adore CEO Min Hee-jin is still ongoing, and due to its sensitivity, the committee has opted not to include HYBE executives in the witness list for the audit. The official added that while all possibilities remain open, the issue involving HYBE is too complex and involves too many organizations for it to be handled solely by their committee. For now, they have only requested the attendance of HYBE affiliate officials regarding the production of New Jeans' album.
According to multiple sources from the committee, both ruling and opposition party members have been inundated with faxes and emails from New Jeans fans, asking them to include HYBE executives, including Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, as witnesses. One lawmaker's office reportedly received between 400 to 500 faxes and 600 emails per day, along with numerous phone calls questioning why Bang Si-hyuk had not been requested as a witness for the audit. The fan materials also called for other HYBE executives, such as the CEO, Chief Public Relations Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Legal Officer, to be summoned.
In their communications, New Jeans fans stressed the urgency of the situation, noting that two members of the group are minors and should be legally protected. They urged the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee to take corrective action against HYBE’s misconduct, particularly concerning the treatment of the young members. The fandom is pushing for HYBE executives to be included in the witness list for the committee’s comprehensive audit on the 24th.
The decision on who will be called as witnesses for the audit was originally scheduled for the 17th but has been moved up to the 10th. However, despite the fans' collective efforts, it seems unlikely that HYBE officials will be summoned. Committee officials indicated that, given the unresolved facts of the case, it would be difficult to question HYBE executives meaningfully. Additionally, the committee’s limited time for questioning witnesses—typically five minutes per person—has already been allocated to other matters, leaving little room to address the HYBE issue.
Comments
What irritates me the most is the fact that looking into whether current laws are sufficient to protect kpop artists is a legitimate conversation to have. There have been many multiple incidents that have happened that suggests that they aren't and more protections might need to be considered. It should not be so hard for CBX to find out how much money EXO has made and whether they are being paid what they should be, The Omega X situation should have never happened and it would be good to have conversations about what could be done to make sure artists have someone they could go to and be believed when they are being assaulted and harassed by their CEO, whether minors in the industry are sufficiently being protected to prevent exploitation and whether they are being educated sufficiently about their contracts and what the industry standards are. All of these are legitimate conversations but they decided to go and frame this around Hanni and her accusations of bullying because she was ignored... that politician should be ashamed to have taken a serious subject and diminish it to such a minor accusation that no one can take seriously when industry exploitation is in fact happening. I also don't think the topic is something that can be sufficiently be discussed with giving people only 5 minutes to speak, but it is a great way to be performative without actually having to care or do anything.
Ashley
2024-10-05 17:52:13 +0000 UTCHere people are sick and if the government gives in to them over someone telling others to ignore them, a terrible precedent would have been set. I hope this all backfires in Bunnies.
Tamara Carman
2024-10-05 13:29:40 +0000 UTC
