HYBE Allegedly Has Begun Erasing NewJeans

This article is part of our coverage of HYBE vs. ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.

Netizens are alleging HYBE has already begun the process of erasing NewJeans.

On May 13, a post titled “HYBE Has Begun Erasing NewJeans” went viral.

In the post, the author uploaded several curious headlines from news articles. In each headline, the journalist claims that ILLIT has overtaken NewJeans, which according to a viral poll in, which over a 100K Koreans voted, is simply not true.

Viral Poll Exposes Damage To ILLIT And LE SSERAFIM’s Image

The headlines are translated below.

Is NewJeans ruined? The real reason their brand power has hit rock bottom.

— Newscribe

Bang Si Hyuk’s Girl Group ILLIT 5 Members All Take Trendy Spots… Replaces NewJeans

— 10Asia

Also, in the 10Asia article, the journalist refers to NewJeans as “Unnies” which make it seem the group is much older than ILLIT.

Netizens reacted to the headlines, with many expressing disgust and accusing HYBE of malicious media play.

“Everyone knows that ‘Brand Power’ rankings shouldn’t be trusted. What kind of article is this?”
“Don’t, please don’t.”
“Isn’t NewJeans younger? What’s up with calling them unnies?”
“Unnie, my ass.”
“NewJeans.”
“Unnie, my ass. Seriously, stop with the media play, saying that their brand power fell is crazy.”
“Unnie, LOL. They are almost all the same age. If you consider their debut age, NewJeans was much younger. What are they playing at?”

“They’ve been doing media play on theqoo a lot, too. You would know if you were in the other channels.”
“You can already tell by the article calling ILLIT, Bang Si Hyuk’s group.”
“HYBE needs to stop with the f@cking media play. They think the public is f@cking stupid.”
“I’m sure ILLIT was made to replace NewJeans. They are trying to blur what makes NewJeans unique and do all they can to take away the group’s accomplishments.”
“Seriously, this media play is so tiring.”
“The fact that NewJeans is actually younger is what makes this even worse, lol.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen such disgusting people.”
“This is the malicious article I’ve been hearing about. This f@cking pisses me off.”

Meanwhile, a parent of a NewJeans member has come forward to reveal that HYBE is planning on putting NewJeans on a long hiatus. You can read more below.