HYBE has stated its position regarding the memorial ribbon of the group NewJeans (NJZ).
On the afternoon of the 7th, HYBE released an official statement saying, "Incorrect facts regarding the memorial ribbon are spreading," and "There is no reason for the company to prevent the artist from wearing a memorial ribbon."
HYBE continued, "At that time, we were conducting a comprehensive review of whether and how not only NewJeans but also artists from each label would wear memorial ribbons," and "Considering the broadcasting conditions in Japan, which are different from Korea, we communicated to each label that prior coordination with the broadcasting company was necessary. We also coordinated subtitles and MC comments regarding the reason for wearing the memorial ribbon with the broadcasting station in advance."
Additionally, "During this process, all artists expressed their intention to wear the ribbons, and we intended to provide the same ribbon to NewJeans," and "However, they expressed their intention to wear the ribbon they prepared, and we respected that, leading to the final decision," it refuted.
On the same day, NewJeans members attended a hearing regarding the injunction application to maintain the status of their original agency, ADOR, and to prohibit the signing of advertising contracts at the 50th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court, claiming that HYBE prevented them from expressing their condolences for the Jeju Air disaster.
NewJeans stated, "The members wanted to go on stage in Japan wearing ribbons, but HYBE stopped them, saying 'the Japanese broadcasting station might have an issue.' However, upon confirmation, we received a message from the Japanese broadcasting station that there was no problem at all, and in the end, Hani hurriedly made a memorial ribbon and took the stage," and "We found that other artists under HYBE appeared on stage wearing regular memorial ribbons."
They added, "If the members had listened to ADOR, it could have been an incident that would have drawn criticism. This is evidence that ADOR is damaging the members' reputation behind the scenes."
