Claims have been made that HYBE impeded NewJeans' wearing of memorial ribbons during the tragedy involving Jeju Air that occurred in December last year.
According to legal documents submitted by the law firm Sejong, representing NewJeans, regarding the injunction against Ador's activities involving NewJeans, on the day after the Jeju Air tragedy, December 30, NewJeans attended the '66th Daesang Awards' held in Japan, intending to wear memorial ribbons and perform.
However, a representative from the creditor (Ador) noted, "Wearing the memorial ribbon would cause a flood of calls from Japanese viewers, paralyzing the station's operations and leading to a broadcasting accident," discouraging the members from wearing it. After the members directly contacted the Japanese broadcasting station and received a response saying "no problem," they intended to wear the ribbons, but as HYBE did not provide them, member Hanni wore a memorial ribbon she made herself during the performance.
Photos posted on NewJeans' Instagram at the time show that they wore flower-shaped ribbons instead of the standard form of memorial ribbons. However, other girl groups from HYBE, such as ILY:1 and Le Seraphim, wore standard memorial ribbons and took to the stage at the same ceremony.
NewJeans claimed, "We were about to be subjected to defamation and criticism," and "We once again confirmed how HYBE and Ador were treating the debtor (NewJeans) out of sight." They stated that had NewJeans not worn memorial ribbons, public opinion would have worsened.
On December 30 last year, NewJeans uploaded a photo of the members wearing black memorial ribbons on their newly opened Instagram account, leaving a message stating "with heartfelt condolences," and they appeared at the '66th Daesang Awards,' wearing memorial ribbons during the live broadcast across all of Japan.
In response, HYBE issued a notification that day, stating, "There is no reason for the company to prevent artists from wearing memorial ribbons. At the time, HYBE was conducting a comprehensive review of the memorial ribbon wearing status and methods for not only NewJeans but also all label artists," adding, "Considering the broadcasting conditions in Japan, which differ from Korea, it communicated to each label the need for prior coordination with the broadcasting station.
It also stated that the reasons for wearing the memorial ribbons and the MC's commentary were coordinated in advance with the broadcasting station. It continued, "During this process, all artists expressed their intention to wear them, and we intended to provide the same ribbon to NewJeans as well. However, they expressed their desire to wear the ribbons they prepared themselves, so we respected that and made the final decision.