Rumors about NewJeans going on a long hiatus surface following statements from HYBE’s CEO. Could their hiatus be likened to military service?
On May 13th, a family member of one of the NewJeans members disclosed to a media outlet that HYBE’s CEO, Park Ji Won, expressed intentions to grant the members an extensive break. This revelation has sparked concerns regarding the group’s future commitments.
The family member explained to Ilgan Sports, “He (the CEO) also mentioned that after the event at the Tokyo Dome, he planned to give NewJeans a long vacation,” adding, “I didn’t ask how long the break would be, but at that moment, CEO Park said, ‘It typically takes about a year and a half to recruit a Grammy-winning producer, but we’ll try to expedite it as much as possible.’ So when we left, the moms were commenting to each other, ‘Since he said it takes 1 year and 6 months to recruit a Grammy-winning producer, does that mean the break will be approximately that long?’ We said we would ask when we meet next time.”
In the interview, Mrs. A emphasized, “We made it clear to HYBE that we want NewJeans to continue with CEO Min (Min Hee Jin), a sentiment shared by the mothers of the five members.”
Addressing concerns about HYBE possibly abandoning the idols without CEO Min, Mrs. A mentioned, “Before this issue arose, we heard from CEO Min about plans for a NewJeans world tour next year. Now, they’re talking about a long vacation…”
Upon hearing the news, Korean netizens began speculating on how long NewJeans’ hiatus could last if they were given a break. One netizen even compared the potential duration of their hiatus to mandatory military service.
