NewJeans’ CEO Min Hee-jin’s Instagram causes concern among fans

The Instagram account and previous idol management allegations against Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, NewJeans’ agency, is spreading like wildfire across international domains.

Concerns regarding the CEO grew among netizens when they allegedly found art of scantily clad teenage girls in some of Min Hee-jin’s Instagram posts. From artworks of inappropriately clothed teenage girls to references to movies and albums that have stories of young females in relationships with older males, her social media posts were dissected by fans on public forums.

Artworks in Min Hee-jin's studio: A topless female. Another female pulling her dress up. (Image via Pann Nate and Instagram)

Criticisms against the 43-year-old art director began when she debuted her first girl group, NewJeans. It included 4 out of 5 teenage members. As per the international age system, the oldest member of the group is 18 years old, while the youngest is 14. Netizens also noticed inappropriate clothing on some of the members.

As the conversation grew, many also brought up her past alleged mistreatment of SM Entertainment artists. The current CEO of ADOR was a former creative and board director of SM Entertainment. She was in charge of the legendary groups f(x) and SHINee’s concepts, while occasionally working with Red Velvet, NCT, and other SM artists.

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NewJeans’ CEO Min Hee-jin lands in trouble after fans point out inappropriate photos, alleged muse, and past mistreatments

After HYBE announced a new sub-label, ADOR, under the management of former SM Entertainment creative director Min Hee-jin, people celebrated the news of a woman-led label. With NewJeans’ refreshingly unique debut, the praise grew multifold. However, things turned for the worse when conversations around the young girls’ debut age started doing the rounds on social media.

ADOR was first criticized for debuting a group with a majority of underaged girls. The group includes Minji (18), Hanni (17), Danielle (17), Haerin (16), and Hyein (14). Netizens then criticized the outfits that the members wore in their music videos. While some believed that the length was too short, others had apprehensions about the kind of graphics and text on the clothes.

In the Attention music video, Hyein can be seen wearing a small black crop top. One member was seen wearing a t-shirt with the words "P*mp is yours," while another wore white baggy trousers that had a woman in a bikini posing with a surfboard.

A NewJeans member wearing a T-shirt with inappropriate language (Image via theqoo)

Hyein wearing the black crop top (Still via Pann Nate)

As debates around the issue started spreading, netizens alleged that Min Hee-jin was overs*xualising the girls. Adding fuel to the fire was the CEO’s Instagram posts. Netizens noticed that her posts, presumably from her studio or home, had several artworks of scantily clad teenage girls.

On the other hand, a user on Pann Nate alleged that the art director was inspired by Brooke Shields, a child actress who is known to have been a survivor of abuse and exploitation in the industry. They drew parallels with the retro aesthetic of NewJeans and photos of Shields as a teenager.

Left: Collage of images of Brooke Shields; Right: Collage of Min Hee-jin's Instagram posts (Images via Pann Nate)

They also found the Histoire de Melody Nelson album by Serge Gainsbourg. The cover photo shows a girl wearing only jeans and covering her body with a doll. The album follows an illicit romance between a middle-aged man and a 15-year-old girl. Similar controversial movie references were seen in other photos too.

The Histoire de Melody Nelson album cover in the back (Image via Pann Nate)

As netizens continued discussing Min Hee-jin’s Instagram and alleged muse, allegations of past mistreatment also arose. Many brought to light the uncomfortable and controversial concepts of Red Velvet and SHINee, both of which the ADOR CEO was in charge of.

Red Velvet made headlines in 2016 when it was criticized for having a “lolita” concept (s*xualized representation of a girl who has reached an adult age, but looks young).

Meanwhile, SHINee had an upper-body-bearing concept photoshoot for their album Sherlock. The youngest member of the group, Taemin, was 18 years old at the time. As per some fans, Taemin was not informed of the decision and was uncomfortable throughout the shoot.

Min Hee-jin and NewJeans have taken center stage on both Korean and international platforms. It has opened a gateway to debates about the growing concerns in the K-pop industry, right from their increasingly young debut age to their representation.

Throughout the debate, people also reminded others to be mindful of the NewJeans members and not to direct hate towards them.