ARMYs Aren’t Convinced By Coway’s Explanation Behind BTS’s Jin Being Omitted From Their Recent Advertisement
BTS‘s Jin is currently serving his mandatory military enlistment. Although the idol is limited to the activities he can do, ARMYs have shared anger after he was omitted from an advertisement released by a brand the members are ambassadors for.
Back in 2021, the members of BTS were named ambassadors for the global brand COWAY. In particular, the idols always gained attention for their adorable and hilarious advertisements for the projects.
A recent advert from Coway has gained negative attention from fans after they noticed that Jin was omitted from the commercial.
While many initially thought it was due to Jin’s military commitments, one fan dispelled those rumors.
Not only did they share that another advert from the brand with all seven members was shared in February 2023, but the new advert without Jin uses the same set (and was seemingly filmed) at the same time as one released in August 2022 with all of the members.
This is Coway water purifier commercial released in August 2022. So, you can see that set is same as water purifier commercial released in April 2023. And at the end, there are seven voices in "Coway Icon Ice Water Purifier!". And you can hear Seokjin's voice. pic.twitter.com/GSZjPWmEpU
— star_jin (@nightstar1201) May 16, 2023
Of course, once netizens noticed what happened, many sent messages and inquiries to the brand. While most didn’t get a reply, one Korean fan shared the response she received, and it was all about discussions for the advertisement.
Hello. I am the person responsible at Coway. I would like to thank the many customers who visited Coway. As for your questions as to why BTS member Jin was not shown on the commercial, during the preliminary stage when first discussing the contents of the commercial, Jin was currently serving in the military and therefore according to law, it was difficult for him to take part. Coway will be waiting for BTS’s Jin to return healthy after finishing his military obligations. For further questions, please refer to our 1:1 consulting or contact us at our customer service center (1588-5200). We will work harder to greet you with better service.
— The response from Coway
코웨이 답변이 왔습니다.ㅠㅠㅠㅠ pic.twitter.com/cnnIM9PDKf
— 김석진사랑해 (@lovejin_921204) May 17, 2023
When the post was shared, ARMYs shared their anger at the lack of planning from Coway.
Coway airing ot6 ads because they failed to renew their contract with Seokjin before his enlistment.. mind you Seokjin did the ads with swollen finger..THIS IS UNPROFESSIONAL AND DISTURBING.
— Sumsum⁷🍊THE PLANET 🔍⍤⃝🔎 (@SumSumSeVeN) May 17, 2023
coway just made enemy with me . like i didn’t even know they were showing the ad with only 6 members because they didn’t renegotiate seokjin contract before he enlisted and mind you he did those ads with a swollen finger and all. very confused to how this happen tbh
— keke⁷ SAW YOONGI (@stallseok) May 17, 2023
this is genuinely upsetting how coway thought it's okay to telecast ot6 ads when BTS is 7. it's very unprofessional of them to not renew the contract with jin before he enlisted.
— ` (@thv_vanttae) May 17, 2023
coway failed to renew the contract with seokjin before he enlisted & now they’re telecasting ads with only 6 members. that’s so fucked up cause it’s literally their fault for not being organized enough to set up a contract before he left & now they’re doing crap like this.
— jwekwe! (@oiirul82ii) May 17, 2023
When referring to “contract” it means the discussion behind the advertisement and a fan shared that fellow brand Lotte Xylitol shared that made sure to discuss new projects that had been filmed with the members before Jin enlisted.
This is difference in professionalism.
[coway💦] 230517 Since BTS Jin is already working in the military at the time of this contract, it has become difficult to appear in ad.
[Lotte Xylitol🍀] 230412 Contract extension was made before a BTS member of joined the military.#JIN pic.twitter.com/U0DiezqJsD— star_jin (@nightstar1201) May 17, 2023
One netizen even pointed out how odd the whole situation was after adding that the person who bought COWAY was Bang Joon Hyuk. It raised more concerns because he also bought shares in Big Hit Entertainment in 2018… and is HYBE founder Bang Si Hyuk‘s cousin.
Bang Joon-hyuk of Netmarble and Bang Si-hyuk of Hybe are relative. Bang Jun-hyuk acquired 25.71% of Big Hit shares in 2018. He bought Coway for 1.74 trillion won. After that, BTS started promoting Coway. pic.twitter.com/OKVGGpLEcr
— star_jin (@nightstar1201) May 17, 2023
While it wouldn’t have been surprising if Coway omitted Jin due to his military status, the fact that it was all because they didn’t discuss contract renewals before he left disappointed fans. In particular, the alleged link to HYBE would’ve meant they knew some information about Jin’s enlistment and would’ve put things in place to ensure he was shown.
