TEAM BUNNIES FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST HYBE, ISSUED A STRONG WARNING DOCUMENT
On October 2, Team Bunnies announced that they would file a complaint against HYBE after being continuously ignored by HYBE and not receiving a response from ADOR regarding the letter requesting an explanation of the issues that were occurring. Team Bunnies is a group of NewJeans fans from many industries who gathered to support NewJeans and Min Hee Jin in their fight with HYBE. Full statement from Team Bunnies:
"Hello, this is Team Bunnies.
Yesterday, October 2, was the deadline for ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young to respond to the protest letter we sent. The letter sent by post reflected the sincere concerns of fans. We request an honest response to all the ongoing issues and urge the company to take the artists' demands seriously.
🔻 Team Bunnies has now completed legal reviews and waited until the last minute to receive a response, but still has not received an apology or commitment to remedy the situation from ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young, HYBE's senior executives, including Vice President Lee Do Kyung, CCO Park Tae Hee, or PR Director Cho Sung Hoon. Therefore, we will proceed to file a lawsuit. We believe that not only us, but also the artists and former CEO Min Hee Jin, have given HYBE multiple opportunities to resolve the issue. issues that HYBE chose to ignore, leading to the current crisis. While this is regrettable, we hope that HYBE will take full responsibility for this evasion and deception, and we will now proceed to file a lawsuit.
The details of the lawsuit will be announced through the Team Bunnies account after filing. We focused on the most serious violations among the many issues and have completed legal reviews, determining that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with the charges.
🔻 Now, we would like to update you on the National Assembly's audit. As a fandom that supports its artists, every step of this process has been a heavy burden, and we have repeatedly questioned whether it was necessary to go this far. Amidst the many national issues, we know that this is not just our problem, but an issue that affects the entire cultural industry. After receiving advice from many experts, we decided to proceed with this because we realized that HYBE's wrongdoings could not be ignored. This is not only a call for our request to be heard, but also an urgent call for government intervention and supervision.
🔻 In an urgent situation because we believed this was the last chance, we contacted many parties to request that the actions of HYBE, a group that is growing stronger, be stopped. We wanted this issue to be taken seriously at least once. This process was not easy. Despite submitting many reports and documents, receiving sympathy and support, the unnecessary intervention at the end made it unclear whether to summon Chairman Bang Si Hyuk or not. We accepted that the audit was narrowed to focus on issues such as Weverse's unfairness and workplace harassment. We confirm that HYBE not only went to the government relations department but also directly to the National Assembly offices to convince that the audit was unnecessary.
🔻 Yesterday afternoon, we received a call from the Secretary of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Lim Oh yung. During the call, we emphasized that this audit was necessary not only as a voice for the fandom but also as a call to protect our cultural sector from being violated. We also learned about how HYBE interfered in the process and the reasons behind narrowing the scope of the audit. We are grateful to the secretary for their sincere response and thorough discussion on the matter. We believe that the promise to look into the issues and take corrective measures, as well as reconsider the necessity of the audit, will lead to further steps, which may include a separate hearing for HYBE.
🔻 We learned that many Bunnies have sent their opinions to the National Assembly office via fax and text messages. Many lawmakers are fully aware of this issue and the Bunnies' voices have reached government agencies. This time, we conveyed our opinions in an urgent manner, knowing that this was the first and last chance. We explained the situation to the lawmakers to seek their understanding. We are grateful to all the Bunnies who have contributed. Team Bunnies will continue to carry out our responsibility for a better future.
🔻 Finally, we warn HYBE. No one could have imagined that bribing journalists and threatening editors would spread to government agencies. We warn once again: If you have done wrong, come forward and commit to conducting an audit and correction. If you believe you have not done wrong, come forward and defend yourself publicly. Don't stay in the dark, not daring to make your name public, while still carrying out the welding.
