🔗 2024-07-24 Exclusive Interview with Members’ Parents (Sports World)

📌 Minji’s Mother: “Dorms Teeming with Cockroaches, Sending a Young Girl Home Alone at 2 AM”

Minji’s mother shared that she was happy when Minji, who was living her first trainee life at Source Music, moved to ADOR. Along with this, she shared stories from Minji’s trainee days at Source Music that had not been spoken of until now.

Minji’s mother began by saying, “Minji came up to Seoul alone at the age of 13 and started her first trainee life at Source Music.” She conveyed the situation at the time, stating that as a parent who had sent her child away alone, she wanted to check on how she was living, but parents were forbidden from entering the dorms.

The first time Minji’s mother visited the dorm was a year later, during the move. At that time, it was sheer shock. Mold blooming in every corner, cockroaches popping out from everywhere. Minji’s mother said, “It still hurts my heart to think of Minji, who endured silently without a word in such a difficult environment.”

It wasn’t just the harsh environment that was hard for a 14-year-old child to endure. The endless waiting without any promise was an even greater pain. Minji’s mother recalled, “As it is for any trainee, it was a continuation of waiting. What made it harder for Minji was that Source Music neglected them for years without any explanation or plan,” adding, “It wasn’t that a debut had been decided, nor was there any explanation of forming a debut team or related concrete plans.”

She continued, “Despite that, they made a 14-year-old child work until past 2 AM on Saturdays and Sundays without any days off,” and looked back, saying, “I still vividly remember Minji’s voice calling me to feel less afraid while walking home alone on the pitch-black streets at dawn.”

Minji also had a great passion for her studies. At the time, under the pressure that “if I fall asleep, I can’t go to school,” she would only wash up and head straight to school. It was a common occurrence for her to sit in front of the school gate from 6 AM, waiting for the doors to open.

Nevertheless, Source Music urged Minji to give up her studies. Minji’s mother explained, “Ahead of (Minji’s) entrance to high school, we heard absurd remarks that general high schools would be hard to balance with practice, so it would be better not to enroll.” It is said that Minji, who found Source Music’s training methods difficult, considered going to school a joy.

In a situation where she had not heard any plans for the future or any explanation from Source Music, Minji could not give up on her studies, so after much deliberation, she conveyed her intention to attend high school. According to Minji’s mother, the company replied at the time, “An arts high school seems possible.” The problem was that the arts high school entrance exams were right around the corner. Minji, who hadn’t been able to prepare anything, had to ask around for a teacher on her own to take lessons and was able to enter the arts high school.

Minji’s mother emphasized, “What allowed Minji to endure even in such a poor environment was her strong will toward her dream.”

Later, Source Music became a label under HYBE. Expectations arose that Minji would debut in the company’s first girl group. However, during this process, they learned about the recruitment of a famous celebrity for the HYBE girl group debut team. Minji’s mother explained, “In the process of the debut order suddenly changing, let alone receiving an explanation, she was in danger of being ruthlessly discarded,” adding, “However, CEO Min Hee-jin at the time stayed with them until the end with the mindset that she could not easily abandon the children she had once taken under her wing. As a result, she debuted as NewJeans and achieved her dream.”

Minji’s mother emphasized, “We signed a contract with ADOR. I liked the fact that CEO Min Hee-jin was involved in the process of moving from Source Music to ADOR. We are fully satisfied with ADOR even now, and we have never once thought about leaving the company.”

“The problem is HYBE, which is tormenting us. I remember the articles that poured out like a witch hunt for three days starting April 22. They framed the parents and NewJeans with strange narratives. The way a large conglomerate personally attacks CEO Min Hee-jin is also appalling. How can we trust and rely on such a parent company?”

📌 Mothers of Hyein & Haerin: “Calling Us ‘New-Fifty’… The 3 Days of Being Misunderstood Were Terrible”

The mothers of Hyein and Haerin also stated, “We have never once thought about or planned to leave ADOR or the company.”

They said, “Our exclusive contract is with ADOR, and we are fully satisfied with ADOR, so isn’t there no reason to do so? Yet, last April, HYBE portrayed us as if we were betraying the company and leaving. We were even targeted as ‘New-Fifty,’ likened to a past incident. The process of being misunderstood like this was truly terrible.”

The members’ mothers said, “At Source Music, one’s status is decided by the final trainee debut evaluation, but there was no feedback for several months. All the members were anxious, thinking they wouldn’t be able to debut. And until we moved to ADOR, we heard no explanation from Source Music CEO So Sung-jin. If Source Music feels so aggrieved now, why was there no explanation back then? When a transfer happens, it is natural for CEO So Sung-jin to explain the circumstances and the changing process first, but that process was missing. When signing the contract, they made us start with all kinds of sweet words, but no meetings took place after that,” and expressed their frustration, asking, “HYBE turned CEO Min Hee-jin, the parents, and even NewJeans into strange people overnight. Can we trust such a company?”

They also explained the circumstances of signing with Source Music. Hyein’s mother said, “We signed with Source Music because at the time, Big Hit (currently HYBE) promised the first girl group and said Source Music was the only company that could accept female trainees. We mentioned this even at the time of signing. We welcomed moving to ADOR with CEO Min Hee-jin more.”

The mothers continued, “It is not just us, but all the members who remember the circumstances of Source neglecting NewJeans during the children’s trainee days,” and pointed out, “Currently, there is also a lot of serious evidence that HYBE is mistreating NewJeans; I wonder if they want us to release it all.”

Regarding Source Music and others releasing videos of NewJeans’ trainee days on the 22nd, Haerin’s mother pointed out, “I question whether Source and HYBE, who released such content without permission even though we have already moved agencies, are companies that possess professional ethics.”

The mothers all urged the HYBE side to leave ADOR alone. They sighed, asking, “Why do they keep touching a company that is ‘doing well on its own’? We have spoken with HYBE’s board members several times as well. We never asked HYBE for special treatment. Rather, we appealed to them to just leave us alone. This is the first time we’ve met people with whom communication is so impossible. We cannot understand HYBE.”

📌 Danielle’s Mother: “HYBE’s Dumbfounding Reply, Who is Leaking the Source?”

“For me, it is a matter where even grasping the facts takes time. Reports are not spreading for now.” (Content of a text message from HYBE CCO Park Tae-hee sent to Danielle’s mother regarding the video distribution)

Danielle’s mother was shocked after seeing the trainee video released by a media outlet on the 23rd. She pointed out the fact that let alone “stealing members,” HYBE had changed its words regarding the debut order.

Danielle’s mother explained, “I clearly remember the conversation at the time of signing my daughter’s contract with Source Music,” adding, “The content was that if Danielle made the debut team, she would be in the first group launched by HYBE.”

She continued, “There was absolutely no mention of including members from a previously debuted team or anything related. We came across that story much later through external articles,” and explained regarding the “stealing members” article on the 23rd that “It is content that could absolutely not go out unless given by HYBE or Source Music.” She said, “Yet, it is baffling that HYBE says they are investigating how the article was published. It is content that could absolutely not go out if not for HYBE or Source Music, but the HYBE side says they are investigating the circumstances only after we made a request. If the article is not corrected, we are also considering legal action.”

Danielle’s mother expressed her grievance that through this incident, the HYBE or Source Music side is regarded as a “company that provides absolutely no protection for artists.”

“I wonder how I can entrust my daughter to HYBE and live with peace of mind. Knowing that we don’t know when or how they will torment us and publish articles with spliced materials that are not the exact truth.”

📌 It is HYBE That Has Continuously Attacked ADOR… “All Parents Share the Same Stance”

The parents who agreed to the interview appealed, “Hanni’s mother, who is in Australia, shares the same stance. There are many more scary stories, but we will stop here. The side that has continuously attacked first until now is HYBE. We desperately want to end this fight.”

In particular, the parents urged HYBE to stop the situation of lying as if stories different from the facts were the truth.

For instance, “Attention” is a debut song that CEO Min Hee-jin brought herself. Danielle even participated in writing the lyrics. They sighed, saying, “It is surprising that they arbitrarily released the demo and practice videos of ‘Attention,’ a song unrelated to Source Music. It is also a huge problem that they released personal information without our consent. We have sent a certification of contents to Source Music and Dispatch. It is scary that they keep telling lies that will eventually be caught by editing contents likely to cause misunderstandings, despite there being so many witnesses who experienced it together.”