The ongoing legal battle between HYBE and ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin has intensified, with new allegations and defenses surfacing from both parties.
Background of the Controversy
Recently, Dispatch published a report alleging that Source Music was ready to debut NewJeans, initially referred to as the N Group, in 2021. According to the report, Source Music had finalized a seven-member lineup and had already prepared their debut song, “Attention.” Following this report, some online fan accounts speculated that NewJeans’ debut singles, “Attention” and “Hype Boy,” were actually the work of Source Music producers.
what’s the point of denial? we’ve all seen it😭https://t.co/qbBUWpmBKU https://t.co/0GM4Og7RtS
— r ⚢ ⚡︎ (@viianwich) July 23, 2024
Attention and Hype boy from Newjeans's debut album were actually created by So Sungjin(Source music) and Bangsihyuk(Hybe), not Mhj pic.twitter.com/xaheSXceIS
— Sniper21 (@Sniper71232) July 23, 2024
Defense of ADOR and Min Hee Jin
In response to these claims, other netizens have come forward to defend ADOR and Min Hee Jin. A viral post on the community site Instiz highlighted that the primary producers of “Attention” and “Hype Boy” were 250 and FRNK, both affiliated with the agency BANA. BANA’s CEO, Kim Ki Hyun, was previously an A&R representative at SM Entertainment (SME), where Min Hee Jin also worked as a creative director. The post noted that FRNK and 250 have significant credits in multiple NewJeans tracks and had a history of collaboration with Min Hee Jin from her SME days, including work on the 4 Walls Remix album for F(X).
So attention was soumu's song. That group's fans always rave about the music & say lsf always go after trendy music when in turn NJ debuted with soumu's leftovers. https://t.co/kuPIUank6t
— yus ⚡ (@itsmeyus_) July 23, 2024
anyone else remember how the fimmies were dancing to attention choreo in their documentary?? what if attention was supposed to be a lesserafim song since SouMu CEO picked it out himself?
— cherry (semi-ia) 🌸 (@zuhacherry) July 23, 2024
Netizen Reactions
The post defending Min Hee Jin and ADOR has garnered substantial support, with many netizens expressing skepticism about HYBE’s claims. The majority of responses criticize HYBE for perpetuating the rift with Min Hee Jin rather than focusing on their own groups.
Sample Reactions:
“This is tiring. How long are they going to drag this? Please, pay attention to your own groups.”
“Ugh, really.”
“Instead of doing mediaplay like this, use that time to focus on your groups.”
“Since things are going well, they keep claiming they did it. LOL. They even insist that they made NewJeans. Does insisting make it a fact?”
“The recent performances of their own group have been getting good reactions, but they sure know how to spoil things.”
Conclusion
The controversy surrounding NewJeans’ debut songs has sparked a heated debate among netizens. While some support the claims made by Source Music, a significant portion of the online community defends ADOR and Min Hee Jin, highlighting the improbability of ADOR simply taking songs created by another label. As the legal battle continues, it remains to be seen how these disputes will impact the involved parties and their respective fanbases.
