HYBE PR representative badmouths NewJeans, Min in leaked phone call with reporter

HYBE came under fire after a PR representative of the company badmouthed NewJeans and Min Hee-jin, with the company later saying the representative's comments were part of "efforts to correct misinformation."

Girl group NewJeans during fan meet and greet, “Bunnies Camp,” at Japan's Tokyo Dome in June [ADOR]

HYBE came under fire after a PR representative of the company badmouthed NewJeans and Min Hee-jin, with the company later saying the representative's comments were part of "efforts to correct misinformation."

A Seoul Shinmun reporter appeared on a local CBS radio show on Wednesday revealing that he had received a phone call from a HYBE PR representative who requested changes to an article. The article was regarding HYBE’s market performance regarding NewJeans.

The reporter's article said that NewJeans’ album sold 1.02 million copies in Japan, but the PR representative corrected the number, saying that "NewJeans didn't do that well," according to the reporter.

“It felt like the PR representative was trying to distort [the numbers] and speak ill of NewJeans," the reporter said on the radio show. "It just didn't make sense to me.”

The reporter also played a recording of the phone call with the PR representative on the radio show. In it, the representative said, “NewJeans’ album didn’t succeed as well as expected in Japan."

"It is important to promote our company's artists, but we have to ensure that accurate information is presented," the representative said.

The recording continued with the representative saying that NewJeans members were being "gaslit by Min Hee-jin." The representative also said they needed to "win over" the newspaper.

"I think [the Seoul Shinmun] department head hates us. I need something to change his mind. You [the reporter] and I are also tired. Let's meet up. I need to win over your guys' hearts," the PR representative said during their phone call.

The reporter added that the PR representative's higher-up invited the reporter's boss to a golf outing.

HYBE quickly released a rebuttal on the same day.

“The article stated that NewJeans’ album sold 1.02 million copies in Japan, but at the time, only 50,000 copies were sold in Japan and 900,000 were sold in Korea,” HYBE said. “We requested the correction to avoid confusing the market and investors. As a PR representative, there is absolutely no reason to speak negatively about NewJeans’ performance.”

In regard to the gaslighting comment, HYBE explained, "The comment was implying that an entertainment company could be overthrown depending on the relationship between the artist and producer, regardless of the shares they hold of the company."

The golf outing was already offered in May but was later canceled due to circumstances, added HYBE.

HYBE condemned the reporter's actions and vowed to respond "firmly."

"We have already made an official complaint to the newspaper because the reporter leaked a phone call with our PR official," HYBE said. "This is a serious violation of their duties as a reporter. We will take firm measures regarding this issue."

To find out more about NewJeans, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]