Is HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk really ignoring NewJeans?

(From left) HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk and NewJeans. Images: FILE PHOTOS

One of the issues raised by CEO Min Hee-jin of ADOR, the K-pop agency behind the popular girl group NewJeans under HYBE, during her teary press conference on April 25, was that its chairman Bang Si-hyuk was treating the K-pop quintet poorly.

Parents of NewJeans members also revealed in an interview with a local media outlet in May that Bang had regularly ignored the band when they greeted him at the company’s headquarters in Seoul, even before the controversy arose.

HYBE denied claims that Bang ignores NewJeans’ greetings at the office, attributing it to his face blindness disorder. However, the parents refuted this by saying, “Even if you have face blindness, can’t you still hear voices? And even if you don’t recognize someone, wouldn’t you typically return a greeting?”

Bang doesn’t seem to have changed his attitude to NewJeans.

Jin of BTS (left) and HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk pose at the backstage of the 2024 Festa held in Seoul, on June 13. Image: Bang’s Instagram account

He did not attend NewJeans’ significant fan meeting event, “Bunnies Camp 2024 Tokyo Dome,” held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on June 26 and 27. According to ADOR, last week’s events had special meaning to the girl band as they became the fastest non-Japanese musicians to perform at the Tokyo Dome, achieving this milestone just one year and 11 months after their debut in 2022. He mentioned nothing publicly about it, either.

This contrasts sharply with his participation in the 2024 Festa in Seoul on June 13, an annual fan meeting event celebrating BTS’ anniversary, where he congratulated Jin on completing his military service. He even shared a photo with Jin on his Instagram account, right afterward.

In a brief teaser of the reality TV show “Point of Omniscient Interfere,” aired by MBC on June 29, the chairman was seen meeting with the K-pop boy band Enhypen of Belift Lab, another music label under Hybe, and having a conversation with them in the waiting room after their performance at Weverse Con, HYBE’s annual music festival held in Seoul on June 16.

In November last year, Bang even attended legendary K-pop star Uhm Jung-hwa’s solo concert to show his support and promote it on his social media.

Bang has zero feed about NewJeans in his Instagram account until now.

Bang has previously stated in local interviews that he does not attend an artist’s concert or event unless he is officially invited, as he does not want to put psychological pressure on the musicians, who might even perceive it as arrogant. The chairman also says he maintains a strict policy of not interfering with Hybe music labels’ independent management.

LE SSERAFIM member Hong Eun-chae speaks about Le Sserafim’s visit to chairman Bang’s luxury house in Los Angeles. Image: The Korea Herald

Nonetheless, it appears that Bang has less affection for NewJeans than other HYBE-affiliated artists.

Hong Eun-chae, a singer from LE SSERAFIM, another K-pop girl group managed by sub-label Source Music, mentioned on her YouTube channel “Eunchae’s Star Diary” in March that Bang had invited all the members to his luxury mansion in Los Angeles. There have been no reports of NewJeans having a private meeting with the chairman in the US, despite their bigger presence there than LE SSERAFIM.

In an earlier episode of Eunchae’s Star Diary aired in February, two other LE SSERAFIM members Huh Yun-jin and Sakura Miyawaki, were given a mission by fans to text Bang and see who would receive a reply first. They all received a message back from Bang equally in 40 minutes, demonstrating their close relationship with the chairman.

This comes in sharp relief to his inability to even recognize the faces of NewJeans, the most popular K-pop girl band currently under his company.