From SM to HYBE: The concerning power of Mediaplay

Media Manipulation, more commonly reffered to as 'mediaplay', is a form of political communication to control public opinion in a way that is desired. Various studies found that the words used in the media play a large role in creating the image of the people in the news, including the omission of certain information, which greatly affects the emotions of the public. It is possible to influence public opinions through misinformation, half truths, and misleading words.

Jessica Jung's removal from Girls' Generation, and more recently Newjeans; battle with HYBE, are strong examples of media manipulation by powerful conglomerates in the Korean entertainment industry.

On September 30, 2014, after Jessica Jung shocked everyone when she posted on her Weibo that she was unilateraly kicked out of Girls' Generation,

"I was so excited for the upcoming event, only to hear from my company and 8 other members that I am no longer a member of the group."

At the end of the statement, she reiterated her love and care for Girls' Generation and that she was forced to leave the group. Dispatch originally released an article about Jessica being forced out but that was soon deleted and an article supporting SM came out instead.

Immediately following Jessica's official departure, there was a barrage of negative news about her. Various News outlets started spreading unconfirmed rumors and speculations which led to confusion among fans and resulted in many losing trust in Jessica. From rumors that she skipped practice and was lazy, to her not flying to overseas schedules, to her even being accused of using the members, it seemed there was a smear campaign to ensure Jessica's career was completely ruined.

The most damaging rumor spread was that Jessica wanted to leave the group and quit music to get married, and that she went to see lawyer Lim Sang Hyuk, who handled the case for the former TVXQ members, to cancel her contract with SM Entertainment. The rumors of marriage were met with anger from netizens who claimed Jessica was prioritizing her love life over Girls; Generation and that she was betraying them.

The news that Jessica met with lawyer Lim Sang Hyuk was also speculated to be done to create a bad image and make the fan community view her negatively. Lawyer Im Sang Hyuk represented former TVXQ members Junsu, Jaejoong, and Yoochun in 2009 to terminate their contracts with SM Entertainment. The response from the fan community was negative towards the three of them, with some thinking that JYJ was being dishonest with their agency. The three of them also had issues with their appearance in the Korean media, just like Jessica.

When Jessica left SM in 2015, SM released a statement saying that the decision was made amicably that they will continue to support Jessica’s work. However, after the release of her first album With Love, J in 2015, Jessica had been scheduled to participate in several music shows but all of them were later canceled. With SM's close ties to broadcasting networks many suspected that her cancelled appearances were due to their Interference.

During a segment on Mixnine where Jessica made a brief appearance, a male MC mentioned the channel’s influence during Jessica’s appearance, saying, “It’s fine to say it at JTBC, but if it’s at SBS, we’ll be in trouble.” This led to the public understanding that Jessica was likely banned from all music shows, and would never appear on stage or on TV again. In the past 10 years, Jessica has not stepped foot on any Korean stage.

SeungRi: Why don’t you appear on broadcast anymore?
Hongchul and YG were like: Aigoo SeungRi why you asked that..
Jessica: ...
SeungRi: It’s alright if it’s JTBC. If it’s SBS you’ll get into troubles.

🌚🌚🌚 pic.twitter.com/sqrRDrw8vx

— Ri ✨ (@hyori_sunie) November 12, 2017

Years later, Jessica revealed that the time after leaving the group was her darkest. Although she has no pending lawsuits with her agency, the irreversible destruction of her reputation and career is a testament to the power of the companies in the media.

“The truth always comes out in the end.” This was Jessica’s Weibo post on December 1, 2014. To this day, time has proven that a lot of untrue news has been released, and it has truly ruined her career. All the rumors spread about Jessica have been proven false.

To date, Jessica has not gotten married and continues to work on music. Jessica released her mini album 'Beep Beep' andwent on tour, 'Diamond Dreams Concert'. The accusation that she wanted to stop being an artist, that she used the same law firm as JYJ , her plans to move to New York and start studying fashion, or even getting married were not true. The only thing that is true after 10 years is that she has not been able to pursue her career freely.

Jessica has two written works based on her experiences, Shine (2020) and Bright (2022). While the books are YA fiction, Jessica said that they were inspired from her time as a Kpop Idol and may be the only true accounts in the world from Jessica's perspective, who has been battling public hatred for the past 10 years. A popular excerpt from her book show's how an idol may be blacklisted. An entertainment company may leverage their artists against a broadcasting station and refuse to let them appear unless the idol they want to blacklist stop's appearing on air.

In early 2023, 3 members of EXO, now known as EXO CBX filed a lawsuit against SM. They released a statement accusing SM of unfair wages, slave-like contract terms and even accused executives of fraud. Following their case, Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin were harmed by negative press with online forum communities accusing them of being greedy and selfish. Many fans sided with CBX in the beginning but opinions began to change as the case continued. It was also suspected that SM paid dummy accounts to comment in fan communities to turn fans against them. SM, through their connections, influenced the public opinion greatly and in the end many sided with the company instead of the idols. The case ended with CBX maintaining an exclusive contract with SM for group schedules.

Despite the numerous lawsuits between major companies and artists, media manipulation has only recently been seriously discussed in the latest case between 'Min Hee Jin' and HYBE. The dispute over the CEO position of ADOR started back in April and has not yet been resolved. During the initial dismissal order, many unverified news articles about Min Hee Jin were released, and Min Hee Jin continuously fought back. A number of followers expressed their exhaustion with HYBE's media manipulation and gathered information to counter HYBE's actions, claiming that HYBE was covering up and accommodating the male staff involved in sexual violence, but intentionally trampled on Min Hee Jin and New Jeans by releasing unverified news in order to destroy her reputation.

The members of New Jeans, who are undoubtedly the biggest victims in this ongoing battle went on livestream to speak up. In the livestream they spoke of how scared and unsure they are because of the situation with Min Hee Jin and HYBE and demanded that she be reinstated as ADOR's CEO. However the video has since been deleted by HYBE and many clips online have been copyrighted.

New Jeans; Hyein looked looked lovely in the airport heading to attend the Louis Vuitton show however, only one journalist posted an article about it. Around 8 media outlets were present at the airport and only Newsen reported on Hyein. This raised suspicion among fans as none of the other idols who were present at Incheon that day got this treatment. Many suspected that HYBE was behind this as well.

HYBE has been exposed of bribing Journalists. It was exposed that HYBE held events with media reps. A call recording of their PR relations asking a reporter to downplay New Jeans achievements was leaked. The reporter said that the he was contacted to alter his article in a way which downplays New Jeans' milestone. This angered fans as, despite their issues with Min Hee Jin, New Jeans is still an artist under them. The HYBE rep also alluded to scheduling a golf meeting with Jang’s editor and stated that he would invite Jang along as well. Golf meetings are often considered a euphemism for corruption in South Korea.

The power Kpop companies have over their idols image and how easily they can manipulate it is concerning to many Kpop fans. Jessica speaking up against SM had inevitably gotten her blacklisted from Korean entertainment. With New Jeans also speaking up against HYBE, their future is also unclear.