Former Reporter Claims HYBE Collaborated with Tabloids to Harm NewJeans’ Reputation

During a recent live stream by YouTuber and former entertainment journalist Lee Jin-ho, he asserted that rumors about journalist Jang Hyung-woo from the online forum Girl’s Gallery were factual and claimed that this information was well-known within HYBE.

Additionally, he mentioned that HYBE had sent a certified letter to the Seoul Shinmun news outlet regarding this matter on July 24.

This situation raises a crucial question: How could tabloid media be privy to HYBE’s internal matters unless the company itself disclosed them?

Since the beginning of the HYBE controversy, Girl’s Gallery has emerged as the primary origin of negative information regarding NewJeans. The pattern is clear: once a post containing specific keywords appears on Girl’s Gallery, it is rapidly shared by Twitter accounts that spread misinformation about NewJeans in English, facilitating international circulation. Domestically, this content spreads through various online communities, generating similar articles and comments across social media, YouTube, and news websites. This cycle has persisted for several months.

Today, these rumors were further disseminated as fact by tabloid media outlets.

An analysis of keywords in Girl’s Gallery’s concept posts since last May indicates a telling pattern, revealing the nature of this online community.

Significantly, the narratives arising from today’s released HYBE PR recording resonate with the tone commonly found in Girl’s Gallery. Furthermore, the Belift Lab clarification video from June openly referenced rumor data sourced from Girl’s Gallery.

Since the onset of the HYBE incident, Girl’s Gallery has actively participated in negative campaigns against NewJeans.

However, following Min Hee-jin’s recent dismissal from her CEO position, there are concerns that this issue may not receive the necessary attention moving forward.

It is deeply troubling and perplexing how a company that claims to be the leading entertainment agency in South Korea seems to be collaborating with an underground online forum and tabloid media outlets.

In response to Lee Jin-ho’s allegations, netizens harshly criticized HYBE, as reflected in the comment section of a trending topic on the Korean platform “theqoo.” Here are some of those comments:

NewJeans should sue them
Why on earth did BTS renew their contract? I really don’t understand. If they had reached that level, they would have cut ties with a company like that.
HYBE has reached a new low that is beyond measure
Wow, I’m left speechless. HYBE is truly disgusting
This is the first instance I’ve seen something like this from an entertainment agency
This is truly disgusting, representing a deep-rooted evil within the entertainment industry

Source: Theqoo

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