NewJeans fandom Bunnies reportedly files charges against HYBE and Dispatch reporters

On Monday, September 2, Korean media Naver reported that NewJeans fandom, Bunnies, filed charges against HYBE and Dispatch reporters for the girl group’s personal information leaks. The fandom’s law firm, Opes, filed a complaint with Yongsan Police Station against ADOR’s parent company HYBE Entertainment.

The official fanbase of NewJeans, known as Bunnies, is staunchly supporting the girl group against the accusations propagated by HYBE and many media sites, including Dispatch.

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Officials from HYBE and Dispatch are allegedly being sued by members of the NewJeans fandom Bunnies

Bunnies (the official fanbase of NewJeans) has initiated legal proceedings against HYBE, Source Music, and two reporters from the entertainment media. On September 2, Opes Law Firm, acting on behalf of Team Bunnies, spoke to Naver,

"Our firm, on behalf of Bunnies, filed a complaint with the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul today against HYBE, Source Music, and Dispatch for violating the Personal Information Protection Act, the Information and Communications Network Act, and for defamation caused by information leaks and articles."

The law firm continued,

"Although HYBE is the parent company of ADOR, they cannot illegally collect and leak personal information about the CEO and artists of its subsidiary, nor can they disclose business secrets obtained in the course of work to third parties. The same applies to Source Music, another subsidiary of HYBE.”

The law firm additionally stated that individuals who have unlawfully obtained and disclosed personal information are adding to the deterioration of NewJeans's reputation by writing articles and disseminating hateful remarks and that this is resulting in further ruining the group's credibility.

The alleged illicit conduct includes inflicting significant and continuous damage against NewJeans, involving the dissemination of misleading information and slander, which is especially harmful to the new talent. They concluded by saying that the Bunnies fandom has chosen to submit this complaint to address the situation leveraging the potency of the legal system.

In July 2024, Dispatch and other media sources also disclosed a portion of a KakaoTalk chat involving Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of ADOR, an ADOR executive referred to as Mr. A, and a shaman. These media sites also alleged that Min Hee-jin participated in unethical selection practices for the formation of the girl group since the time when the NewJeans members were trainees at Source Music.

Lawyer Lee Hyun-gon from Opes Law Firm commented,

"If the leaked KakaoTalk conversation was provided by the internal PR team or another internal source at HYBE, this constitutes a serious personal information breach, and writing articles knowing this intent could also be considered an illegal act."

An anonymous legal person has asserted that if a Dispatch journalist incorporated recordings and information that were only accessible to an insider, and reported on them without the authorization of the relevant parties, it may be deemed as defamation and a violation of personal rights. So, the company responsible for the unauthorized disclosure of the information may have contravened the Personal Information Protection Act.

A spokesperson from Team Bunnies, who lodged the complaint, informed Naver that following this complaint, the fanbase intends to persist in submitting third-party complaints against defamatory content associated with NewJeans.

The official emphasized that the fandom has already categorized and gathered numerous damaging post materials and has enlisted the services of two extra lawyers to submit complaints prioritizing those that are most likely to lead to tangible consequences.