[Exclusive] Director Shin Woo-seok of 'New Jeans MV' files criminal complaint against Ador executives for defamation
[SPOTV News=Reporter Jang Jin-ri]
According to a SPOTV News report on the 8th, director Shin Woo-seok filed a complaint against Ador CEO Kim Joo-young, HYBE CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer), and Deputy Director Lee Do-kyung on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation) at the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul on the 4th.
Shin Woo-seok produced music videos for New Jeans' hit songs such as "Ditto," "ETA," and "OMG." He also operated the YouTube channel Ban Hee-soo, which received an explosive response from fans in Korea and abroad by containing videos of New Jeans captured on camcorder by Ban Hee-soo, the personification of the New Jeans fandom, Bunnies.
In the midst of New Jeans' conflict with Ador, the agency that was filled with new management following the dismissal of former CEO Min Hee-jin of HYBE, director Shin Woo-seok revealed that Ador had requested the deletion of his work, including videos related to New Jeans. In particular, the Banhee Soo channel caused a stir because it is content that shares the emotions and narratives of New Jeans that the 10-20 generation is crazy about and the 30-40 generation feels nostalgic for.
However, Ador argued that they only requested a hiatus regarding the director's cut of the 'ETA' music video, about which they had differences of opinion with advertisers in the past, and that they had never demanded the deletion or halt of any videos related to New Jeans.
The war of words between the two sides over the deletion of videos related to New Jeans intensified. When Director Shin Woo-seok became furious, saying that Ador threatened to send a certified mail demanding double the service fee and that he was lying and playing with the media, Ador countered that Shin Woo-seok had actually violated the contract.
After that, he said that Ador was lying to their face and trying to persuade them behind their back, using them as a tool to distort the situation, and threatened to take legal action, saying, "I will submit or disclose the recordings, emails, and materials sequentially as necessary, and sue CEO Kim Joo-young and Vice President Lee Do-kyung for defamation." In the end, he chose legal procedures to prove the truth.
The conflict between HYBE and former CEO Min Hee-jin, which started from the suspicion of management seizure, is intensifying. New Jeans is currently unable to trust the management and is demanding that former CEO Min Hee-jin be reinstated as Ador's CEO, and former CEO Min is also arguing that he should be re-elected as Ador's CEO according to the shareholder agreement.
On the 29th of last month, the court dismissed the injunction application filed by former CEO Min Hee-jin against HYBE, but Min Hee-jin's side stated, "This does not mean that the court accepted HYBE's claim," and "If Ador's directors violate the shareholder agreement and do not re-appoint her as Ador's representative, former CEO Min will actively consider whether to exercise her rights pursuant to HYBE's violation of the shareholder agreement."
