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BT21, BTS IP characters’ social media page received backlash for allegedly promoting NewJeans’ products. On June 19, “DO NOT USE BTS LINE FRIENDS” started to trend on X (formerly Twitter) as netizens shared an alleged screenshot of an advertisement on the BT21 account promoting NewJeans’ Bunny plushies.
BT21 is popular among fans as the characters were originally designed by the BTS members themselves. Notably, It was launched in collaboration with LINE FRIENDS.
LINE FRIENDS have also collaborated with NewJeans for their merchandise. However, there was an alleged advertisement for the Super Shy singer’s merchandise on the BT21 account instead. For this, BTS fans showcased their disappointment in the company's mismanagement.
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They urged them not to use official pages associated with BTS for other groups including NewJeans. Fans were furious as BT21 specifically promotes characters made by BTS.
Since the BT21 page has more followers than of LINE FRIENDS, netizens also speculated that the corporation is taking advantage of its popularity to allegedly promote other groups.
BTS & LINE FRIENDS’ BT21 official social media issues a statement apologizing to fans
In October 2017, the K-pop boy group launched the BT21 characters through LINE FRIENDS. Since then, the corporation has launched and introduced different types of merchandise as well as video content with special stories about the BT21 characters.
Meanwhile, NewJeans has also launched merchandise including the Powerpuff Girls X NJ Doll collection and Bunini collection through LINE FRIENDS in 2023.
On June 19, BT21’s official X account made an official statement apologizing to fans for the accidental promotion of NewJeans’ products, although they did not mention the K-pop girl group’s name in the statement. It stated:
“We deeply apologize for the recent issue where an AD of another IP was mistakenly sent out via our BT21 official X account.”
They further added on working efficiently to not repeat such errors in the future. The statement read:
“Due to a setting error, unrelated contents were mistakenly advertised, but this has now been corrected. We promise to make every effort, such as strengthening oversight and establishing guidelines, to prevent a recurrence.”
ADOR and HYBE’s legal battle
NewJeans is managed by ADOR which is a subsidiary of HYBE, making them labelmates with the Yet to Come singers. Despite the apology from the BT21 X page, many netizens were not convinced about the reason the page stated for the error due to the infamous conflict between HYBE and ADOR.
For the unversed, ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin was accused by the conglomerate of attempting to take over the management rights of ADOR. On April 22, HYBE called for an audit to dismiss Min Hee-jin from the position of the CEO.
On May 7, Min Hee-jin filed an injunction to prevent HYBE from using their rights to dismiss her at the Seoul Central District Court. On May 30, the court ruled in favor of Min Hee-jin and granted her a temporary injunction. Min Hee-jin retained her position as the CEO.
However, during the battle, she received criticism from netizens for her alleged comments about the boy group. Many fans of BTS allegedly signed a petition for the ADOR CEO's dismissal from the agency for reportedly spreading misinformation about the group.
Notably, amidst the fierce battle between ADOR and HYBE, NewJeans’ members Danielle and Minji have shown their support to the creative director and CEO Min Hee-jin on KBS’ Music Bank.
