Bang Si-hyuk reportedly spotted delivering goods at LE SSERAFIM pop-up event amidst ongoing HYBE x ADOR feud

HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk aka Bang PD got embroiled in a new set of allegations after he was seen delivering goods at LE SSERAFIM's pop-up event. On May 13, 2024, reports of the chairman showing up at the girl group's event invited a barrage of criticism where netizens accused him of favoritism.

This stemmed after a parent of a NewJeans member claimed that the Bang PD allegedly ignored the girls whenever they greeted them. The allegations further stated that once HYBE chairman was in the elevator with a NewJeans member and still ignored her greeting.

The letter from the parent allegedly stated—

"HYBE's Chairman Bang Si-hyuk didn't even greet our kids, which seems to be a similar experience for other kids after their debut. One child was even in an elevator with him, and he didn't acknowledge the greeting." (as reported and translated by Allkpop)

Meanwhile, the situation escalated as netizens were left perplexed over seeing Bang PD show up personally at the LE SSERAFIM event.

---

Bang Si-hyuk accused of favoritism towards LE SSERAFIM amidst allegations of mistreating NewJeans

On May 11 and 12, 2024, the K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM hosted Fearnada 2024 S/S, a two-day fan event, in Seoul's Jamsil Indoor Stadium. For the benefit of the group's fans worldwide, the event was broadcast Live on Weverse. Additionally, the founder and chairman of HYBE was seen delivering merch goods at the venue for the girl group to show his support.

Following the most recent allegations of Bang Si-hyuk's mistreatment of NewJeans members, internet users focused on the chairman's handling of LE SSERAFIM, a different HYBE female group that is operated under SOURCE MUSIC.

According to a netizen on the Korean online forum Theqoo, there was a 40-hour wait at the pop-up event and the store opened at 10 a.m. Fans became irate and demanded more stock when the goods sold out in only 20 minutes. Bang Si Hyuk took action and drove the van carrying the products to deliver them personally so that fans of the EASY artists could get the merchandise.

Furthermore, reports surfaced online on May 14, that the HYBE chairman is also added to the same KakaoTalk group chat with LE SSERAFIM. Several other netizens clarified that Bang Si-hyuk is credited with songs and creates, writes, and produces music for several K-pop groups such as BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), ILLIT, ENHYPEN, including LE SSERAFIM.

However, Koreaboo reported on May 14, that the allegations that Bang Si-hyuk struggled with facial recognition could be due to prosopagnosia. Earlier, a parent of the NewJeans member had mentioned that HYBE CEO Park Ji-won informed her who brought this up to him that the chairman could suffer from prosopagnosia and that it was all a misunderstanding.

For the unversed, face blindness, also known as prosopagnosia, is a condition in which it is difficult for a person to recognize faces. While there is no cure, there are steps a person may take to improve their ability to identify individuals.

Newjeans' member's parent alleged that—

"Whenever the NewJeans members encountered Bang Si Hyuk in the company building, we wondered why Bang Si Hyuk would pretend not to recognize the members and turn a blind eye to their greetings....However, since this issue has happened several times, with different dates and locations, even when it was just Bang Si Hyuk and the members, we believe there is no other possibility except recognizing that they are, in fact, NewJeans." (as reported and translated by Koreaboo)

---

In the meantime, HYBE's dispute with ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin took a different turn as reports came to light about the company's intention of putting NewJeans on a long hiatus after their June 2024 Tokyo Dome Japan concert.

However, HYBE denied all allegations of mistreating or ignoring NewJeans and stated that they have submitted newfound evidence against Min Hee-jin to the police over the ongoing feud.