Min Hee-jin Criticizes K-pop Idols’ Use of Random Photocards to Boost Album Sales

On April 25th, an emergency press conference was held in Seocho-gu, Seoul by CEO Min Hee-jin, who is accused of trying to acquire the management rights of ADOR from HYBE.

During the two-hour press conference, the female CEO addressed a range of issues and expressed her disapproval of the Korean entertainment industry’s practice of including random photocards in albums to boost sales. She pointed out that NewJeans had achieved successful results without resorting to this tactic.

CEO Min explained that while some may argue that NewJeans does not include random photocards in their albums, they do have randomized albums. He pointed out that by including all the photos of the artists in one CD, it essentially becomes a dictionary. He highlighted that despite the increase in production costs, the price of their albums has remained the same for the past 20 years. He then posed the question of whether their albums would still sell if they were priced as a dictionary. He also mentioned that not implementing a random selection process would lead to comparisons of member popularity, which he did not want to promote. He firmly believed in selling their albums based on its content and competing fairly, as it was his responsibility to do so.

Furthermore, she explained, “Idols are facing difficulties as they are constantly required to participate in fansigning events. NewJeans is frequently asked to attend these events. I believe the music industry is heading in the wrong direction, which is why I decided to partner with NewJeans. I wanted to demonstrate that we can succeed without resorting to such tactics.”

The primary motivation behind idol fans purchasing numerous albums is due to the possibility of obtaining random photocards, attending face-to-face fansigning events, or participating in video fancalls. This is because fans are eager to secure a photocard of their favorite member or have the opportunity to personally interact with the members. As a result, they often end up buying dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of albums.

Fan loyalty is a significant factor in establishing record-breaking initial sales. Certain fans purposely chose not to receive their purchased albums in order to boost the idols’ album sales numbers, leading to the emergence of a phenomenon known as “undelivered albums”.

After hearing Min Hee-jin’s statement, numerous K-pop fans expressed their agreement. On X (formerly known as Twitter), fans wrote comments such as, “Her words were much needed”, “By rejecting the practice of using random photocards for commercial gain, she showed her disapproval of those who do it in the K-pop industry”, “Her insight provides a deeper understanding of the culture and business surrounding idols”, and “She was absolutely right”.

Despite securing evidence of ADOR and CEO Min Hee-jin’s attempts to take over management rights during the recent audit, HYBE has decided to file a complaint against them for breach of trust. During a press conference, Min Hee-jin tearfully and aggressively expressed her disagreement with the accusations.