Reporter Jang Hyung-woo, who allegedly exposed HYBE, resigns and denies accusations of sharing recordings with Min Hee-jin

On September 27, 2024, Money Today reported that the Seoul Shinmun reporter, Jang Hyung-woo, who accused HYBE of allegedly downplaying NewJeans' achievement, resigned from his job a week ago. Reporter Jang Hyung-woo had an on-call interview with Money Today and stated that he has been in the process of joining Kakao Mobility.

Earlier, Jang Hyung-woo claimed that HYBEs' PR team contacted him to rectify his article about NewJeans. In his piece, he wrote that NewJeans sold over 1 million album copies in Japan. However, HYBE stated that NewJeans sold 1 million copies combined in Japan (38,000) and South Korea (900,000).

In his interview, he said that he doesn't know Min Hee-jin personally. However, Money Today reported that Jang Hyung-woo used to highlight his association with Min Hee-jin in front of others.

"I did not give the recordings directly to Min Hee Jin. We do not know each other."

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Reporter Jang Hyung-woo allegedly exposed for distorting facts against HYBE and breaching journalistic ethics

In a video titled "An Active Journalist's Lie... HYBE's Recovery Plan," uploaded on September 25, 2024, YouTuber Lee Jin-ho claimed Jang Hyung-woo's resignation from Seoul Shinmun. The YouTuber highlighted that on September 25, Jang Hyung-woo appeared on Kim Hyun Jung’s News Show, and represented himself as an active journalist, contrary to the reality.

In Kim Hyun Jung's News Show, Jang Hyung-woo claimed that HYBE had purposefully downplayed the number of copies of NewJeans sold in Japan. He submitted a call recording in which a HYBE PR staff rectified that over 900,000 copies were sold in Korea and only 38,000 to 50,000 had been sold in Japan.

The YouTuber highlighted that other journalists would have accepted the rectification instead of publishing incorrect data that could have invited a backlash from Japanese netizens for sajaegi. However, the former Seoul Shinmun reporter's approach concerned the YouTuber:

"When journalists realize an error, they usually admit and correct it. But instead, this reporter seemed to imply that even if it wasn’t true, it could have been exaggerated for HYBE’s benefit, which is strange," YouTuber Lee Jin-ho said.

Furthermore, Money Today reported that Min Hee-jin obtained the particular call recording from the former Seoul Shinmun reporter in July 2024. Min Hee-jin reportedly told HYBE that she received the recording from a reporter.

According to Money Today, YouTuber Lee Jin-ho further disclosed that the reporter lied about watching NewJeans' YouTube livestream (September 11). Min Hee-jin allegedly received the call recording from the former Seoul Shinmun reporter on July 17, 2024, when she "confronted" HYBE about the album numbers.

Meanwhile, Joy News reported that HYBE responded to the allegations made by Jang Hyung-woo and refuted them by stating:

"They are cleverly distorting the facts regarding album sales in Japan as well. The article stating that "1.02 million copies were sold in Japan alone" was such a significant distortion of facts that we explained the sales volume using the Oricon chart data that was publicly available at the time."

HYBE clarified that Gold certification is dependent on shipment requirements. Even though the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) declared NewJeans' debut album record to be Gold (100,000 copies), it was based on the number of albums shipped, not sold.

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Meanwhile, on September 26, 2024, Min Hee-jin told JoongAng Ilbo that Billboard columnist, Jeff Benjamin texted her claiming that HYBE allegedly sent him slanderous articles about her. The same day, Jeff Benjamin posted screenshots of her chat with Min Hee-jin, refuting her statement.