NJZ Fans submit another petition to the courts (Warning: Long Read)

[RussianRoulette]

Howdy Howdy

Tokki's/Bunnies are filing yet another petition to the court on behalf of NJZ due to the mistreatment and affect Hybe/Ador/etc are having on their mental health. They are claiming that Hybe and Ador are causing them serious mental pain and anxiety and want the courts to intervene and protect them.

Team Bunnies have explained that the point of this petition is to provide the courts with accurate representation of the situation with NJZ and explain how Hybe and Ador are working to sabotage them.

I believe this petition is only for Korean signatures but they plan on releasing one for oversea fans to sign soon. They have also said they will be submitting other documents to the courts, three additional petitions, a legal advisory opinion formed through a team of lawyers, copies of Team Bunnie's statements on this situation, and a copy of a police report they made at the police statement that includes the current status of an accusation investigation they made.

The petition they have written up is very VERY long so I will do my best to split it up into parts.
It's also 11pm by me and I am too tired to autocorrect ADORE to ADOR and HIVE to HYBE so y'all will just have to live with any typos from the google translate.
​

Dear Judge

We are fans of Minji, Hani, Daniel, Haerin, and Hyein (hereinafter referred to as the ‘members’). We are very sorry that former agency Adore filed an injunction against the members to preserve the agency’s status and prohibit them from signing advertising contracts. As a fan of ‘NJZ’ (formerly known as ‘New Jeans’, and ‘New Jeans’ will also be used in this petition as needed) who has been watching this situation with more interest and concern than anyone else, we believe that it is necessary to inform the court of the truth, so we are submitting this petition.​

1. HYBE and ADORE have been harassing the members with media play and reverse virality.

From the fans’ perspective, what HYBE and ADORE have done to the members since April of last year was extremely inhumane and unreasonable. ‘K-pop idols’ suffer from malicious comments and malicious articles on the Internet, just as much as they are famous, and suffer mental damage. Given that even small issues are reported hundreds of articles a day, the agency must prioritize the protection of the artists above all else. In particular, since it includes minor members, the agency must bear an even stronger duty of protection.

However, rather than protecting the members, HYBE and ADORE maliciously spread the information they had in order to exploit it in a public opinion war.​

1) Through an ‘exclusive’ article by ㅇㅇㅇ, which is notorious for invading the privacy of celebrities, and through an unknown route, the original video and records of the members’ trainee days (all of whom were minors at the time, practicing and being evaluated with choreography that could be seen as sexually suggestive) and records, which could only be from Hive or Source Music, were leaked without permission, causing malicious comments such as sexual harassment.​

2) The members were seriously defamed and subjected to malicious comments by leaking illegally obtained private messages to the YouTube channel of ‘Entertainment President Lee Jin-ho’, a cyber-reck who makes money through celebrity gossip. Afterwards, the members were repeatedly posted on the same channel with false facts and speculative videos, and they have been continuously attacked personally.

In this way, Hive and Source Music seriously violated the members’ personal rights, and despite the fact that no measures have been taken to identify the leak route or to identify the person responsible, Adore (current management) is avoiding their duty of protection and responsibility by saying that Hive and Source Music are third parties and that it is ‘outside their authority’, and the fans have been so frustrated that they have had to come forward and file a criminal complaint against Adore for their neglect.

Furthermore, Adore claims that the actions of Hive and its subordinate labels are third parties, and is drawing a line by saying that they are not responsible and that it is outside their authority and duty. However, this is a complacent attitude that ignores the seriousness and severity of the infringement, and it reveals that Adore still takes the members' suffering lightly and has neither the will nor the ability to protect the members from the parent company.

Adore (current management) filed a civil suit against the Dolphin Kidnapping Group that produced the music video despite the members' objections, but it is questionable why they are so small-minded about Hive's infringement and whether they are an agency for the members. In the end, former CEO Min Hee-jin, who raised the issue to protect the members, was forcibly dismissed in August of last year by the Adore board of directors appointed by Hive, despite the court's decision, and the management was completely replaced with Hive personnel.​

2. HYBE and Adore (current management) ruined ‘New Jeans’.

Fans have consistently opposed the dismissal of former CEO Min Hee-jin. Over 14,000 fans around the world have urged HYBE and Adore to guarantee former CEO Min Hee-jin’s term until November 2026 according to the contract for the growth and activities of the members. At a time when ‘New Jeans’ achieved unprecedented musical achievements and made a successful debut in Japan in just two years, dismissing the executive producer and CEO of ‘New Jeans’ who contributed greatly to this without any countermeasures and appointing the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of HYBE, who has no experience in the entertainment industry, as the CEO, is an unacceptable decision for the members and from the management perspective of Adore.

Former CEO Min Hee-jin had been planning a new girl group since before joining HYBE (Big Hit), and she stated on “You Quiz” and Japan’s “WOWOW” that she thought “a long-term narrative is needed rather than the artist’s short-term direction,” and also mentioned that “New Jeans has a 7-year blueprint,” and “I hope it doesn’t become a hopeless torture for the members,” which was something that fans also earnestly hoped for.

In K-pop, general producing is not simply planning music or performances, but plays a key role in designing the identity of the artist and the group and overseeing the process of realizing it specifically. It goes beyond simple planning and has a decisive influence on concretizing the direction of the artist and the identity of the group. In particular, each element, such as new and high-quality music that is differentiated from existing K-pop, unique branding, fashion, detailed choreography, and unique music videos (interpretation videos), are important independently, but ultimately, all of these elements must be harmonized and connected within one big picture in order for the group’s identity and message to be clearly conveyed. This is the process of forming a rapport with fans and maximizing the potential of the artist. CEO Min Hee-jin is recognized by everyone for her outstanding overall planning ability, outstanding aesthetic sense, 20 years of industry experience, and artistic ability, and she has proven the success of 'New Jeans' by leading the members to fully demonstrate their talents and qualities as artists. In particular, unlike other groups, she reflected member Hye-in's opinion and released the music video for the debut song 'Attention' without a pre-teaser, released triple title songs (Attention, Hype Boy, Cookie), produced music videos for all songs regardless of title songs and b-sides, did not promote the music videos (paid promotions), collaborated with masters, and collaborated with global brands. These are examples of bold decisions and advanced capabilities that can only be made when management and production are integrated.

Above all, she shared the goals and plans she wanted to achieve with New Jeans in detail with the members, and naturally incorporated them into the branding and production of New Jeans, such as the Power Puff Girls, with her high level of understanding and affection for the members' characters. The fans were satisfied with all these elements, and the members also truly loved their music, enjoyed their activities, and were growing. The members should be able to participate in important decisions that can protect their identity as artists and the direction of their music.

The fans cannot tolerate the fact that ‘NJZ (formerly New Jeans)’, which is in its infancy, is being suspended due to external interference without any fault of their own. Music critic Kim Young-dae criticized, “Hybe’s New Jeans without Min Hee-jin may become another common girl group, but it seems impossible for them to remain as a group that fundamentally changed the K-pop industry over the past two years. And this will be a great loss to New Jeans, Hybe, and K-pop as a whole. K-pop is a cultural ‘industry,’ but it is also a ‘cultural’ industry.”​

3. HYBE (Chairman Bang Si-hyuk) has been intentionally discriminating against its members, and this hostile environment will not change.

In addition, HYBE has several labels under its umbrella, and there is an issue of discrimination against girl groups and members in which HYBE's major shareholder and CEO Bang Si-hyuk participated as a producer. In particular, in the case of the rookie girl group from Belift Lab, in which Chairman Bang Si-hyuk participated as a producer, the similarity to 'New Jeans' continued to be an issue. It is unusual for a rookie group from within HYBE, not from another agency, to debut in just 1 year and 8 months with a concept so similar to New Jeans, which debuted in July 2022. Other large entertainment companies differentiate their concepts by about 4-5 years. Moreover, they do not obtain other groups' plans and copy them. However, instead of admitting their wrongdoing, HYBE and Belief Lab have filed civil and criminal lawsuits against former CEO Min Hee-jin who raised the issue, and Adore (current management), who still claims to be the members’ agency, has not taken any action regarding the above issues and is continuing to file lawsuits against the members. Even just looking at this string of lawsuits by HYBE, we can see that they have absolutely no intention of protecting the members as true artists under their agency, and it is assessed that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk is actually leading and supporting this.

The fact that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk personally designated the recipient and circulated the HYBE internal document “Weekly Music Industry Report” every week to the highest executives of HYBE (including the current board of directors and management of Adore), stating that “we can just throw away the new and start anew” also reveals the discrimination and hostility against the members within HYBE. Fans think that Hybe's "girl group first-week 1 million sales era, grouping B○○○-Le○○○-E○○-A○○ together, and categorizing them differently from the 4th generation theory is necessary. We suffered for days with the wording 'Newar', so just throw away New and start anew", and I think that the categorizing strategy itself is a strategy by Hybe's PR team to exclude New Jeans and promote Le○○○ of Source Music, which is produced by Bang Si-hyuk, the CEO of Hybe. In fact, it was revealed along with the recording that Hybe's PR team tried to spread negative public opinion by disparaging New Jeans' performance in Japan and saying that the members were gaslighted, but Hybe did not admit to their wrongdoing and only made an official statement that they would hold the reporter who reported them accountable. Regarding such discrimination and suspicions, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk of Hive, the party in question, has been ignoring them with silence for a whole year, and the Hive PR team and Adore's current management have not even acknowledged their wrongdoings, let alone taken corrective action, leaving no room for improvement in the hostile environment in the future.​

4. As fans, we support and cheer for the termination of the members’ exclusive contracts.

As K-pop fans and NJZ fans, we know how much effort and contribution the members, former CEO Min Hee-jin, and former members of Adore have made to create the cultural and economic value of ‘New Jeans.’ I believe that the global success of K-pop is not only due to the artists and entertainment agencies, but also to the fandom, which has actively contributed to its growth. From the fans’ perspective, it is disappointing that we cannot use the name ‘New Jeans’ for the time being. However, since the fans have witnessed the reasons and process that made it inevitable for the members to terminate their exclusive contracts with Adore, we fully support the members’ inevitable decision.

During a live broadcast in September 2024, the members officially requested, “In order to protect the value of ‘New Jeans,’ please return to the original Adore, where former CEO Min Hee-jin’s management and production are integrated.” Music critic Cha Woo-jin said, “Who is damaging Hive’s core IP with an attitude that is difficult to understand right now? Who is not respecting the top priority of 'artists' and 'fans'? Who is making the 'community' of a multi-label that guarantees diversity and creativity uneasy? I believe that Chairman Bang Si-hyuk of HYBE will come up with insightful results in response to these positions and questions," he said, expressing support for the members' positions and requests. However, in the end, it was HYBE and Adore who ignored the members' desperate demands and ruined 'New Jeans'.

HYBE and Adore released a statement under the names of some organizations, claiming that the termination of the members' contracts was shaking the foundation of the K-pop industry. However, these organizations are organizations that only represent the positions of the management companies, such as HYBE or Chairman Bang Si-hyuk as members of the board of directors, and there is no organization or group that can represent the rights or positions of singers (artists). The Ministry of Employment and Labor even closed the complaint regarding workplace bullying on the grounds that singers (artists) are not 'workers'. Singers (artists) are treated as products, not as persons, to them, a means of making money, and even if they are bullied within the company, they are not considered workers and are thus placed in a vulnerable situation where they cannot help but be in a blind spot of legal protection.

K-pop idols usually debut after a period of training while they are minors, and sign a long-term exclusive contract of 7 years. 7 years is an important period in the life of K-pop idols as well. The Supreme Court ruled that “given the nature of an exclusive celebrity contract, in which the agency plans, manages, and controls all of the celebrity’s activities, it is essential to maintain a high level of trust between the contracting parties in order to achieve the purpose of the contract, and forcing a celebrity to engage in exclusive activities against their will on the grounds that there is no serious reason for which the contract cannot be continued even when the trust between the parties has been broken results in an excessive infringement of the celebrity’s personal rights.” The NJZ members are only 20 years old (Minzy, Hani, 20), 19 years old (Daniel, 18), 18 years old (Haerin, 16), and especially since they include minors, it is too cruel to tie up the members’ dreams and lives in an unbearable place and neglect them. Furthermore, forcing a duty to engage in exclusive activities against their will violates the right to be protected from labor harmful to mental development guaranteed by Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and therefore must be judged even more strictly.​

5. I am concerned about the ‘acceptance’ and mental distress that the members will experience if the provisional injunction is granted.

Adore has filed an injunction to preserve the agency’s status and prohibit the members from signing advertising contracts. However, since they are also filing an injunction to preserve the agency’s status, it is clear that Adore will interfere with all of the members’ activities if the injunction is granted, so Adore’s explanation that the injunction application is “to prevent advertising contracts and advertising activities” is nothing more than a play on words.

In addition, New Jeans’ branding, advertising, and music activities are inseparable and have always been carried out in an integrated manner. For example, ‘Zero’ is a Coca-Cola CM song, but a music video was produced and it became so popular that it reached number one on music charts such as Genie Music, and the members also performed at an event hosted by ‘Coke Studio’. Also, in collaboration with Apple iPhone, the title song 'ETA' music video of New Jeans was filmed on an iPhone in a challenging way, and the recent comeback song 'Bubble Gum' was used as a Japanese shampoo commercial song, and New Jeans' unique branding that does not have boundaries between music activities and advertising has received much praise. Therefore, if Adore's request for an injunction to preserve its agency status and prohibit advertising contracts is accepted, it will cause serious restrictions not only on advertising activities but also on all entertainment activities including music activities.

If the court recognizes Adore as the members' agency or decides that the members cannot work outside of Hive and Adore, it is clear that Hive and Adore will only do the bare minimum on the surface and accept the members as they are. Since April of last year, Hive and Adore have focused on attacking former CEO Min Hee-jin, and in the process, they have continued to play negative media against the members, effectively neglecting them. During that period, fans felt frustrated and empty as they watched the activities they had been anticipating being frustrated, and they couldn't help but feel resentful and angry at the fact that innocent members were being harmed. In addition, if there was an indefinite hiatus of several months or years during the most important time for the members, it would be extremely harsh on the members and would infringe on their personal rights and freedom of professional activities.​

6. Adore does not hesitate to commit illegal acts of leaking the members’ personal information, and continues to wage a malicious war of public opinion.

Adore claims on the surface that it wants to be with the members, but malicious reports about the members have continued until recently. In particular, these reports could not have come out without information that Adore intentionally provided.

For example, recently, sensitive personal information such as a specific member’s visa status was exclusively reported by entertainment media outlet ㅇㅇㅇ, and the reporter who reported the information published a follow-up article just 3 hours later stating that the member in question was reported as an ‘illegal resident.’

On February 12, entertainment media outlet ㅇㅇㅇ exclusively reported that “Adore prepared all the documents for visa extension and attempted to apply for an extension, but the member in question refused to sign,” which was clearly information that only Adore could know and provide. Furthermore, the above article directly pointed out that the member in question became an “illegal resident” by saying, “The member in question became an illegal resident on his own,” and reported false facts. As a result, the member in question has become the target of xenophobic and racist malicious comments, and has suffered from extreme criticism and ridicule.

Reporters ㅇㅇㅇ and ㅇㅇㅇ, who reported the above article, have continuously poured out articles that are favorable to Hive and Adore and negative about the members. In particular, ㅇㅇㅇ has repeatedly formed a negative frame by reporting over 700 articles related to New Jeans from April 2024 to January 2025, and ㅇㅇㅇ has reported over 400 articles. Given these accumulated experiences, it is only natural that the members do not trust Adore and cannot expect protection. Even while the lawsuit is in progress, the behavior of Hive and Adore, who continue to engage in malicious media play, is completely inconsistent with their attitude of ‘wanting to be with the members’, and instead, it seems like they are only trying to damage the members’ reputations and block their future entertainment careers.

The members themselves, as well as the fans, have been hurt by Hive and Adore’s interference and media play for nearly a year. The fans had to worry about whether negative articles about the members would come out almost every day due to Hive and Adore’s malicious media play and sowing discord, and they felt strong anger and contempt when videos of the members’ trainee days were leaked on ㅇㅇㅇ and others without their consent the day after their 2nd debut anniversary. Even in this situation, Hive and Adore did not take any action and did not protect the members, and in the end, the fans came forward to prepare rebuttal materials, respond to malicious comments, and even file a criminal complaint.

Fans who have been watching the series of events since last year call the current Adore, who is not protecting the members and is engaging in a malicious public opinion war, a ‘salty Adore’ and a ‘Fraudor’. Adore has also completely lost the trust of fans. If it is true that, as Hive and Adore claim, they did not treat the members as individuals (but at least considered ‘New Jeans’ an important IP asset), I don’t think they would have engaged in such malicious media play that has directly damaged and harmed the members.​

7. We earnestly request.

NJZ fans love the members’ music and the joy and bright energy that comes from their stage presence. However, if the members are forced to work exclusively in a hostile environment where trust is broken, this will only prolong the members’ suffering, and the fans will no longer be able to enjoy the members’ music and entertainment activities with joy. This is because the fans know the mental pain and anxiety that the members have suffered due to Hive and Adore, and even if the members do not show it, they will feel the members’ frustration.

The fans do not want the members’ musical challenges and journeys to be interrupted by external factors. As fans who love K-pop and the members, we hope that the members can focus on their music and activities in a safe and happy environment with people they can trust. We believe that this will also help develop our popular culture and improve the unfair practices in the K-pop industry. We earnestly hope that the court will make a wise decision and dismiss Adore’s injunction application.​

Article Source. Twitter Source.​

 

[UMJI MOODS]

This is quite common. Third party petitions are not at all unusual. Like when an actor is on trial and another actor writes a letter asking for leniency or speaks to character or something otherwise relevant to the charges. Just fans concerned about their group.
I don't like mhj, bsh or hybe. I am not a fan of njz because they were/are a hybe artist. But I have no issues with this as it is opinion. If hybe does they can sue them.

 

[zxcvbnm<>]

go rabbit !