Fans of LE SSERAFIM held a truck protest in front of the HYBE headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, on November 14, demanding that the group be separated from NewJeans following the latter’s comeback announcement.
The truck displayed strong messages including:
- “Separate the real victim LE SSERAFIM from the real culprit Patjwi unconditionally”
- “The culprit fandom B…Z’s malicious comments against LE SSERAFIM are still ongoing. HYBE, actively sue them”
- “Blaming innocent LE SSERAFIM for the delayed debut order postponed by Daepyoo? This is real workplace harassment”
- “Even in court, XJeans lied and slandered LE SSERAFIM. HYBE must separate them”
LE SSERAFIM is under Source Music, a label owned by HYBE, while NewJeans recently announced their return to another HYBE label, ADOR. The announcement appears to have sparked anger from LE SSERAFIM fans, leading to the protest.
The dispute traces back to a year-long conflict involving NewJeans and ADOR. During this time, former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin and NewJeans clashed with HYBE, and LE SSERAFIM was mentioned.
NewJeans claimed they were treated unfairly compared to other groups, and ADOR did not intervene. Min Hee Jin also said, “HYBE debuted LE SSERAFIM first, not NewJeans, as their first girl group,” directly naming the artists.
As a result, LE SSERAFIM faced negative public exposure, enduring ridicule and malicious comments even on unrelated content.
NewJeans were framed as “Kongjwi” (the mistreated party), while LE SSERAFIM were labeled “Patjwi”, fueling long-standing tension between the fandoms.
On November 12, NewJeans members Haerin and Hyein officially announced their return through ADOR.
Members Minji, Hanni, and Danielle also confirmed their comeback, noting that “one member is currently in Antarctica, so the announcement was delayed, and since ADOR did not respond, we had to announce separately.” ADOR is currently coordinating meetings with the other three members.
Following the comeback, LE SSERAFIM fans expressed strong anger that the two groups remain under the same HYBE umbrella and are demanding separation to protect their artists.
Fans of HYBE’s Belift Lab group ILLIT are also reportedly upset, as former CEO Min and NewJeans have previously claimed that ILLIT’s debut hurt NewJeans’ brand value and accused ILLIT of copying them, citing unfair treatment during past disputes.
Source: [1]
