According to NewJeans’ parents, whenever the members encountered Bang Si-hyuk at the company, he ignored their greetings and looked away.
The members reportedly felt awkward and stood still in the elevator after being ignored, sensed that he was pretending not to see them, or even felt that he was deliberately avoiding them—this wasn’t just a one-time occurrence.
When the parents raised concerns about this, HYBE reportedly explained that Bang Si-hyuk might have ‘face blindness’ (prosopagnosia).
Looking back on this now, something seems very strange.
When someone greets you, isn’t it more natural to respond, especially if you don’t recognize them?
Could it be that Bang Si-hyuk actually recognized them as NewJeans members and ignored them on purpose?
If he deliberately ignored their greetings, the most plausible reason would be his strained relationship with Min Hee-jin. But since he didn’t see NewJeans members often, he had no reason to personally dislike them.
Yet, despite any conflicts between adults, would a grown man openly show his disdain towards young girls?
Was this the only instance where Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE made it clear that they disliked NewJeans?
Is it reasonable to assume that NewJeans members and their parents raised concerns with HYBE and ADOR solely because of this one incident?
Or would it be more reasonable to see it as one example among many instances of subtle discrimination and mistreatment?
Would NewJeans members have fought so hard to leave HYBE—the largest entertainment company in South Korea—just because their greetings were ignored?
Now, here’s the real issue.
If it were a mistake or a misunderstanding, wouldn’t a normal person apologize after realizing the oversight?
If Bang Si-hyuk had apologized, this could have been dismissed as a minor incident. But the fact that the parents had to send emails to bring attention to it suggests that no apology had been made at the time. Even after the incident became public, Bang Si-hyuk has still not issued any formal apology.
Some might argue that a chairman doesn’t need to apologize for something like this.
But how authoritative must a company’s culture be for such behavior to be brushed aside so easily?
Furthermore, HYBE’s PR team downplayed NewJeans’ success in Japan, the group’s earnings were leaked, and there were allegations that NewJeans members were prevented from wearing memorial ribbons—all concrete instances where NewJeans suffered under HYBE’s actions.
Yet, in all these situations, has HYBE or Kim Joo-young’s ADOR ever apologized to NewJeans?
If HYBE and ADOR genuinely respected NewJeans, wouldn’t it be unthinkable for them to go this long without offering an apology?
Such behavior only makes sense if they hold a negative view of NewJeans.
In other words, HYBE and ADOR—until this very moment—are making it blatantly obvious through their actions that they harbor resentment toward NewJeans.
Despite this, HYBE and ADOR publicly claim, “Why would we hate NewJeans? We are waiting for them and eager to talk.”
That is pure deception.
As Min Hee-jin put it, what they are doing is a form of ‘social exclusion’ (eunta).
Moreover, despite NewJeans members’ desperate pleas, HYBE dismissed Min Hee-jin as CEO under the justification of separating the roles of CEO and producer. (Then why did Bang Si-hyuk produce ILLIT?)
I want to ask:
What has HYBE or ADOR ever done to accommodate NewJeans’ requests?
Given all they have endured, it is completely natural and justified for NewJeans members to feel victimized by Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE.
Imagine this:
You greet your company’s CEO, but they ignore you.
Later, you find out that the company has been downplaying your team’s achievements to the media.
Then, you discover that details of your salary have been leaked within the company.
How would that make you feel?
