According to K-pop industry insiders, 10,000 members of the “Bunnies” — the devoted fan base of NewJeans — submitted a petition to the 50th Civil Affairs Division of the Seoul Central District Court on May 24. (Image: Yonhap News TV)
SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) –Fans of the K-pop act NewJeans rallied behind the girl group’s founder and CEO after she won a temporary injunction blocking her company’s attempts to remove her, escalating a bitter corporate dispute playing out in public.
In a fiery statement, the fan collective Bunnies welcomed the court’s decision to prevent HYBE, NewJeans’ parent agency, from exercising voting rights aimed at ousting Min Hee-jin as chief executive of the subsidiary ADOR. The ruling requires HYBE to pay around 20 billion won if it violates the injunction.
“If HYBE tries to abuse its majority shareholder status, betray its promise of good faith and discard the artist and Min who raised them, then we will resist such attempts by force,” the fan group warned.
The unusually strident language reflected rising tensions since HYBE, a major K-pop entertainment company, moved last month to convene an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to potentially dismiss Min. She alleged business mistreatment and filed for the injunction.
“HYBE’s reckless attempts to remove Min by dismissal vote at ADOR’s shareholder meeting on May 31, or to strip her representative rights through a board vote after replacing directors, cannot be tolerated as they would substantively undermine this court ruling,” the Bunnies statement said.
Some 10,000 fans had previously submitted a petition to the court supporting Min, citing her achievements with NewJeans and close rapport with members as instrumental to the fledgling group’s development.
The court decision found insufficient grounds so far for HYBE’s claimed justifications to remove Min from her dual roles as CEO and chief producer at ADOR.
The injunction permits the shareholder meeting to proceed but bars HYBE from voting on Min’s potential dismissal, leaving the two entertainment giants trapped in a stalemate that has galvanized NewJeans’ fans into a defensive stance.
“We fans cherish NewJeans, so we will exhaust all possible means,” the Bunnies statement declared, suggesting a protracted clash looms unless tensions are resolved.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
