The Korean National Police Agency in Seoul. Photo Credit: Gohsuke Takama
A step towards reconciliation? Despite its contractual dispute with NewJeans, Hybe’s Ador is bringing out the legal guns to protect the girl group from online harassment.
Ador disclosed as much in a lengthy social media post, claiming at the outset that “malicious” comments targeting K-pop artists have seen a “significant escalation” as of late. Said comments include but aren’t limited to appearance-related criticism, “fake news,” and “invasions of privacy,” the Hybe subsidiary spelled out.
As some know, Hybe has for years been firing back against the individuals behind allegedly harassing messages. Apparently, though, Ador has taken things a step further by bringing on “additional personnel dedicated exclusively to this matter.”
Extra team members or not, it’s impossible to manually find and investigate every relevant online remark. On this front, Ador once again encouraged fans to anonymously report (via a dedicated form) instances of alleged artist harassment. The entity applauded prior submissions as “very helpful in taking legal action against such activities.”
“Cases deemed particularly malicious and severe, to the extent that they may constitute criminal acts, are currently the subject of criminal complaints,” the company reiterated. “ADOR has recently filed a complaint with the Seoul Yongsan Police Station and, through continued monitoring and evidence collection, plans to submit additional complaints.”
Meanwhile, Ador is also taking aim at NewJeans deepfakes. One “suspect who created and distributed false videos exploiting artists was recently indicted and referred to the prosecution while in custody,” according to the text.
In the bigger picture, can Ador’s public support for NewJeans repair their badly strained professional relationship – or at least set the reconciliation wheels in motion?
(Besides cracking down on NewJeans critics, Ador today wished Danielle a happy birthday on the act’s Instagram page. At 20 years old, the Australia native is the third-youngest NewJeans member; Haerin is 18, and Hyein is just 16.)
Admittedly, given the involved (to put it mildly) nature of the dispute, an immediate resolution seems unlikely. However, the anti-harassment campaign could enable Ador to make inroads with NewJeans diehards, reiterate its status as the group’s agency, and get the compromise ball rolling.
As things stand, NewJeans is on hiatus following a temporary injunction ruling in Ador’s favor.
This ruling is barring NewJeans’ members from spearheading solo career activities independent of Hybe/Ador; NJZ, which NewJeans members rebranded as for a short time, looks to have deleted its social accounts.
A separate hearing about the NewJeans-Ador contract itself ended last week “without progress,” per the Korea Herald. A different hearing yet (pertaining to an appeal of the injunction) spanned only 15 or so minutes yesterday, according to YTN, which reported in more words that both sides had doubled down on their existing stances.
In short, NewJeans is adamant that the Ador deal is no longer valid due to multiple violations; Ador insists that the contract remains active. And there’s considerable friction concerning the status (at present and in terms of NewJeans’ future activities) of former Ador head Min Hee-jin.
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