NewJeans video director accuses record label Ador of lying about content removal

SEOUL - Another controversy surrounding NewJeans is rising, this time over pages run by production company Dolphiners Films.

Mr Shin Woo-seok, best known to the public for directing four NewJeans music videos, demanded a public apology from the group’s label Ador through his Instagram page, accusing the label of lying about details behind the removal of videos.

All NewJeans-related content on Dolphiners Films’ social media pages and its non-profit YouTube channel Ban Heesoo has been removed.

Ban Heesoo explores the fictional world based on the music video of NewJeans’ Ditto, the premise of which is that the bandmates are students in the late 1990s.

Both parties agree that ownership of the content belongs to Ador, but they remain at loggerheads over specific requests by Ador and what had been allowed to be uploaded to Dolphiners Film’s channel in the first place.

Mr Shin claimed that Ador requested the removal of all NewJeans-related content from the Dolphiners Films’ social media accounts, as it had determined that collaboration between the two companies is no longer possible. He suspected a “shift in Ador’s policies”, following the recent dismissal of its former CEO, Ms Min Hee-jin.

Ador has said its request was for Mr Shin to remove from the YouTube channel just the director’s cut music video for ETA, which it said had been unilaterally uploaded by Mr Shin without sponsor approval. The company alleged it had never requested that all NewJeans content be removed.

Mr Shin said on Sept 3 that uploading the director’s cut had been agreed upon by all parties, including Ador.

“Stop lying, since I have the recordings and mail (related to posting the videos),” Mr Shin wrote in his statement posted on Sept 3. “According to Ador, I spread false rumours. So why are you trying to reach out to me and conciliate?”

Mr Shin said that while the Ban Heesoo channel belongs to Dolphiners Films, he is planning to relinquish its ownership to Ador under the condition that Ador will not remove or revise any of the current content. “For Dolphiners Films, ownership is not important. It is enough for the channel to exist as an extension of (the music videos),” he said.

Mr Shin emphasised that Ador should apologise for making what he said were false claims.

Ador then posted a new statement Monday afternoon, reiterating its previous position that the company’s request concerned only the director’s cut of the “ETA” music video.

“Ador merely requested Dolphiners Films to send evidence (emails, KakaoTalk messages) proving that there had been agreement to use the image of the artist, and that the director’s cut should be removed if such evidence does not exist... Ador had clearly received a request to delete from the music video the part where the sponsor’s brand is shown, or remove the video as a whole,” the company said in a message shared via X, formerly Twitter.

It provided a screenshot of a Slack message between Ador employees, which showed that the employees did talk about an unspecified US-based sponsor making such a request.

Ador again stressed its position that it had made no requests about the content on the Ban Heesoo channel, and that Dolphiners Films is free to run the channel as long as it respects the existing agreement concerning the copyrighted content.

The company accused Mr Shin of “overreacting” to it, merely pointing out his infringement of the previous agreement, and that him deleting all of the channel’s content would not be in the best interest of NewJeans or their fans. “I hope there will be no more instances of feeding the anxiety of the artist and the fans, treating the YouTube channel as a hostage,” it said.

The bad blood between Mr Shin and Ador runs deeper than in regard to hosting the aforementioned videos. Mr Shin, a close associate of former CEO Min, is thought to have gotten on Ador’s bad side when he submitted a petition opposing her sacking back in May.

Mr Shin has suggested that the recent actions by the Hybe-owned label may be retaliation for the petition, his refusal to direct other music videos of Hybe artistes or possibly to remove traces of NewJeans.

Last week, 1,445 fans of NewJeans called for the reinstatement of Ms Min, demanding Hybe honour her contract to be CEO until November 2026. Hybe’s initial attempt to sever ties with Ms Min was thwarted by a court injunction, but it notified her of the termination of the shareholders’ agreement last month, and has launched a lawsuit to confirm the decision.

The NewJeans band members have not directly addressed the issue, but they expressed their support by thanking Ms Min in an acceptance speeches at the 2024 The Fact Music Awards on Sunday in Osaka, Japan.

Danielle said they “truly love and thank” Ms Min, who always “cherishes and protects us.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK