On September 27, 2024, Money Today reported that Jang Hyung-woo, a reporter from Seoul Shinmun, who had accused HYBE of seemingly downplaying the achievements of the girl group NewJeans, resigned from his position a week prior. In an on-call interview with Money Today, Jang Hyung-woo revealed that he is in the process of joining Kakao Mobility.
Previously, Jang claimed that HYBE’s PR team had contacted him to correct his article about NewJeans, where he stated that the group sold over 1 million album copies in Japan. In response, HYBE clarified that NewJeans’ sales figures accounted for 1 million copies combined—38,000 in Japan and 900,000 in South Korea.
During the interview, Jang mentioned that he doesn’t know Min Hee-jin personally. However, Money Today noted that he often emphasized his connection with Min Hee-jin to others.
“I did not give the recordings directly to Min Hee Jin. We do not know each other.”
Jang Hyung-woo Faces Allegations of Distorting Facts and Breaching Journalistic Ethics
In a YouTube video titled “An Active Journalist’s Lie… HYBE’s Recovery Plan,”released on September 25, 2024, YouTuber Lee Jin-ho discussed Jang Hyung-woo’s resignation from Seoul Shinmun. The YouTuber pointed out that just a day earlier, Jang appeared on Kim Hyun Jung’s News Show, representing himself as an active journalist, which contradicted the reality of his situation.
On the show, Jang accused HYBE of deliberately downplaying the sales of NewJeans albums in Japan. He presented a recording of a phone call where a HYBE PR team member clarified that over 900,000 copies had been sold in Korea, while sales in Japan amounted to only 38,000 to 50,000.
The YouTuber emphasized that responsible journalists would generally accept rectifications rather than publish incorrect data that could provoke backlash from Japanese netizens regarding sajaegi. However, the approach taken by the former Seoul Shinmun reporter raised concerns for Lee Jin-ho:
“When journalists realize an error, they usually admit and correct it. But instead, this reporter seemed to suggest that even if it wasn’t true, it could have been exaggerated for HYBE’s advantage, which is unusual,”YouTuber Lee Jin-ho stated.
Furthermore, Money Today reported that Min Hee-jin obtained the aforementioned call recording from Jang Hyung-woo in July 2024. She allegedly informed HYBE that she received the recording from a reporter.
According to Money Today, Lee Jin-ho further revealed that Jang had lied about watching NewJeans’ YouTube livestream on September 11. Min Hee-jin supposedly received the call recording from the former Seoul Shinmun reporter on July 17, 2024, when she “confronted”HYBE regarding the album sales figures.
Meanwhile, Joy News reported that HYBE responded to Jang Hyung-woo’s allegations, stating:
“They are skillfully distorting the facts concerning album sales in Japan as well. The article claiming ‘1.02 million copies were sold in Japan alone’ represents a significant misrepresentation of facts, which we clarified by using publicly accessible Oricon chart data at the time.”
HYBE also noted that Gold certification is based on shipment standards. Although the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) recognized NewJeans’ debut album as Gold (100,000 copies), this certification was based on shipments rather than actual sales.
On September 26, 2024, Min Hee-jin informed JoongAng Ilbo that Billboard columnist Jeff Benjamin texted her, alleging that HYBE had sent him slanderous articles about her. On the same day, Jeff Benjamin shared screenshots of their conversation, refuting her claims.
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