ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin‘s comments about why she chose to scout NewJeans‘ member Minji from SOURCE MUSIC when finding a lineup for her group has angered fans.
NewJeans’ Minji | @newjeans_twt/Twitter
During the press conference, she spoke about her feud with HYBE, but also her history with SOURCE MUSIC. When speaking about the trainees from SOURCE MUSIC, there wasn’t much choice except for Minji.
Anyway out of the trainees that SOURCE MUSIC already had, there wasn’t much I could choose from. There was only Minji.
— Min Hee Jin
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Min Hee Jin revealed that she struggled to make a selection, and shared some criteria that she thought about, including age, skills, or just suiting the vibe. She added that Minji was the one with potential.
I’m sorry to say this but I couldn’t make a selection because they were either too old or they needed to polish their skills more, or they didn’t really suit me. Anyway, so I thought that Minji [had potential] because she was young then, and would get much better with practice. And Minji was really pretty when she was young, way prettier than now.
— Min Hee Jin
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She then added that after seeing Minji, Min Hee Jin saw that she could create a group.
So I thought I would be able to do something (create a group) with her. Anyway so I had to do casting again.
— Min Hee Jin
[Video could not be displayed]
Yet, when the clip was shared…
“…. I saw their (source music) trainees and sorry to say this but among source music trainees Minji was the only one I chose/recruit because the other remaining trainees was either not skilled, too old or didn’t match with my principles.. and I think Minji was so young and- https://t.co/yLLOpRileu
— al (@taeternityou) April 25, 2024
Netizens couldn’t hide their anger. While Min Hee Jin might not have meant it maliciously, and it was to suit the concept of the group, it fit into the general discourse about the age at which idols debut and why so many young idols are debuting and age is a huge factor.
“Too old” and wanna bet those girls were probably 18 or something https://t.co/QNsjA2qIHf pic.twitter.com/rrmNuLGm9l
— soladaᡣ𐭩 (@lilacteez) April 25, 2024
how could she say this about the other trainees…the reason why they came to you is because they wanted to train, to learn, and debut…you can’t just judge them from the get go… https://t.co/fe7aKrPNxc
— one jimin a day⁷ (@onejiminaday) April 25, 2024
“minji was so pretty when she was younger, even more than now” https://t.co/dArIe3UHGl pic.twitter.com/P8xB5GKgkP
— jelly ecoerience (@todayits_winter) April 25, 2024
Mind you , at least 2 of the “too old” trainee’s were around 18 (Sakurai Miu) & 19 (Huh Yunjin) at the time… cuz they certainly weren’t cut for skill reasons… https://t.co/5OpVZXUYuP
— Cheery; (@Cheerylimeaid) April 25, 2024
am i going crazy or she’s publicly admitting she picked trainees based on how young they looked?? “she looked prettier when she was younger” oh this woman is never beating creep allegations https://t.co/IDGuU7W2wZ
— jay (@tensorfied_) April 25, 2024
While the comment might have been innocent, netizens are angry that age played a factor, especially considering the backlash of idols debuting so young.
