Source Music refuted former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin’s claim that she personally cast the members of NewJeans, submitting video evidence from the time of the members’ trainee contracts as part of an ongoing lawsuit.
According to legal sources on November 7, Source Music appeared at the fourth hearing of its 500 million KRW (approximately 342,665 USD) damages lawsuit against Min at the Seoul Western District Court and presented video recordings of the NewJeans members signing their trainee contracts as evidence.
The submitted footage reportedly includes scenes such as Haerin’s mother saying, “It’s amazing that the casting manager from Source Music came all the way to Anyang,” indicating that the label was responsible for her recruitment. In Danielle’s case, she was previously a trainee at another agency before being cast by a Source Music staff member who had transferred to the company. In her contract video, Danielle’s mother is heard saying, “If she doesn’t make the confirmed debut lineup, please give us the option to stay with or leave Source Music.” The agency asserted that these videos clearly prove that all NewJeans members were originally selected by Source Music, not by Min Hee Jin.
The label further clarified that, in Hyein’s case, then-CEO So Sung Jin personally persuaded her parents, and that Min Hee Jin “did not even participate as a judge in the audition where Hanni was chosen.” As for Minji, Source Music stated that “she had already been selected by the company before NewJeans joined.”
In addition, the company submitted internal communications contradicting Min’s previous claim that she had worked to debut NewJeans as HYBE’s first girl group. One Slack message dated July 8, 2021, reportedly shows Min writing to then-CEO Park Ji Won: “I don’t mind when LE SSERAFIM debuts. I just want NewJeans to transfer to the M label so they can debut as its first team.”
Another piece of evidence included a transcript from a conversation Min had with a shaman on August 12, 2021, in which she said, “I also wanted to leave last. The protagonist comes last,” suggesting that she preferred NewJeans to debut after LE SSERAFIM.
Source Music also objected to Min’s previous public statement referring to the company as “thugs who sold trainees.” The label argued, “It’s impossible to discover and debut talent without image and trust. Her remarks severely damaged the company’s reputation, causing significant distress to employees and artists.”
They added, “Min claims that calling someone a ‘thug’ does not harm social reputation, yet she has filed defamation suits against netizens who used the same term to describe her. This contradiction underscores the need for her to be held accountable.”
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