SOURCE MUSIC Counters Min Hee-jin's Claims on 'NewJeans Casting' with Practice Footage

SOURCE MUSIC, a subsidiary label under HYBE, has directly refuted the claims made by former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin regarding the 'casting of NewJeans' and the alleged 'breach of debut promises'.

During the fourth hearing of the 500 million KRW damages lawsuit between Min and SOURCE MUSIC, held on the 7th at the Seoul Western District Court's Civil Division 12, SOURCE MUSIC submitted video evidence from the NewJeans members' trainee days, meticulously rebutting Min's statements from her press conference.

Addressing Min's assertion of 'I scouted NewJeans,' SOURCE MUSIC presented the videos in court, stating, 'This clearly shows the members were selected by SOURCE MUSIC.' The revealed footage included NewJeans member Danielle's mother saying, 'If we don't get the debut confirmed group, please give us the choice to stay with SOURCE MUSIC or transfer.' It also contained Hae-rin's mother commenting, 'It's amazing that the casting director from SOURCE MUSIC even came to Anyang.'

Furthermore, SOURCE MUSIC emphasized that in Hye-in's case, the CEO of SOURCE MUSIC personally persuaded her parents. They clarified that Min was not even a judge at the audition where Ha-ni was selected. Min-ji, they stressed, had already been selected by SOURCE MUSIC before Min joined the company.

Regarding the claim that 'the promise to debut NewJeans as HYBE's first girl group was not kept,' SOURCE MUSIC countered using Min's own past statements. They revealed a message from July 2021 where Min told the then-HYBE CEO, 'I don't care when LE SSERAFIM comes out. But I want NewJeans transferred to the M (Min Hee-jin) label and have it as the first team of the M label.'

They also presented a conversation from August 2021 between Min and a shaman, where she said, 'I wanted to leave at the end, but the main character is last.' SOURCE MUSIC argued, 'This indicates a desire for NewJeans to debut after LE SSERAFIM.' The label criticized, 'There was no promise to debut NewJeans as HYBE's first girl group, yet [Min] spread falsehoods in front of the entire nation, damaging our reputation.'

SOURCE MUSIC also expressed strong regret regarding Min's statement at the press conference calling someone a 'gangster who sold trainees.' They stated, 'Scouting and debuting gems is impossible without image and trust. The employees and artists have suffered extreme damage due to Min's remarks, which shook the company's business foundation to its core.'

They further added, 'Min claims the term 'gangster' is not something that degrades social evaluation, yet paradoxically, she is filing for damages against netizens who referred to her as a gangster. We request appropriate compensation for her responsibility.'

Meanwhile, SOURCE MUSIC filed a 500 million KRW damages lawsuit against Min in July of last year. Belift Lab, the agency for the group ILLIT, is also pursuing a 2 billion KRW damages lawsuit against Min, who raised 'plagiarism allegations'.

This legal battle stems from the dispute between Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR (NewJeans' agency), and HYBE's subsidiary label, SOURCE MUSIC. Min initially ignited the conflict through a press conference, alleging that HYBE disregarded her contributions to NewJeans' debut and that the concept of ILLIT, a later girl group, was too similar to NewJeans. SOURCE MUSIC, however, presented evidence that Min's claims were untrue, asserting that Min had actually intended to take the NewJeans members away from SOURCE MUSIC, leading to their legal action.