Sakura: Obstacle to NewJeans’ Debut Before Lesserafim? K-Media Explains

In the midst of the dispute between HYBE and ADOR, the involvement of LE SSERAFIM Sakura in the matter was addressed by the affiliate label through K-media.

Initially, HYBE instigated the issue by accusing Min of attempting to steal ADOR’s management rights. In response, CEO Min countered by holding a press conference.

ADOR further elaborated on its position by releasing a new statement on May 5. The statement addressed the nine topics that were previously discussed at the press conference.

Reasons for NewJeans Not Becoming HYBE’s First Girl Group

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According to the press conference, CEO Min Hee Jin was guaranteed by HYBE that NewJeans would be debuting as “HYBE’s first girl group”under her label, ADOR.

HYBE has refuted this claim and instead placed the blame on NewJeans not being their first girl group. This is because CEO Min strongly insisted that they debut under her own separate label, instead of Source Music where other trainees were supposed to debut alongside other NewJeans members.

From Pantless Fashion to Min Hee Jin Press Conference: 5 Controversies LE SSERAFIM Was Involved In This Year — Min Hee Jin Press (Photo : News1)

As a result, it was a lengthy process to establish the label, and due to the fact that the girl group members were trained by Source Music, certain procedures such as obtaining management’s consent were necessary for the transfer.

It was originally planned for NewJeans to debut in March 2022, but it ended up being delayed until the third quarter of the year. However, LE SSERAFIM ended up debuting first in May 2022.

Why Is Sakura a Barrier to NewJeans Debut

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During this explanation, a K-pop idol named Sakura has been mentioned for allegedly causing hindrance to NewJeans’ earlier debut compared to LE SSERAFIM.

Thus, when Sakura joined Source Music, NewJeans had already been established as a group made up of new members. HYBE allegedly asked Min not to promote NewJeans during their debut, which was confusing to the CEO as it had no connection to the group’s debut or Sakura’s transfer to Source Music.

The CEO Min was informed by the parent label, without prior notice, that a promotion period must be set due to consecutive debut points from the two teams and insufficient time to promote each other.

However, according to ADOR, HYBE’s intention was to create confusion in the K-pop market by promoting LE SSERAFIM as Min Hee Jin’s girl group.

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SNS conversation records between CEO Park Ji Won and Min Hee Jin serve as confirmation, but HYBE has a tendency to frequently alter their statements, often citing reasons unrelated to the matter, such as:

“Due to the R&R dispute between Source Music and CEO Min Hee Jin, NewJeans’ debut schedule was pushed back, and LE SSERAFIM, prepared by Source Music, debuted first. The two teams debuted one after another, giving them enough time to promote each other.

It was originally not enough, so we decided to set a minimum promotional period for a certain time. Even before Sakura signed with HYBE, there were a lot of articles about “HYBE”transfer rumors. In this situation, ADOR’s team was called ‘a team made up of only rookies.’

There was a concern that the fact that Sakura was joining Source Music and information about the members of NewJeans members would be exposed as well, and the request was made to protect the news value of both teams, and even this period was shortened in the middle.”