“Public Execution Claims” – Min Hee-jin Alleges HYBE Offered Money for Departure

As reported by The Korea Times, on September 25, 2024, Min Hee-jin’s attempt to be re-appointed as the CEO of ADOR was rejected by the company’s board of directors during an emergency shareholders’ meeting. The following day, she conducted an exclusive interview with a reporter from JoongAng Ilbo.

In the interview, she alleged that HYBE, the parent company of ADOR, offered her financial compensation to leave the company, which she declined. According to JoongAng Ilbo, she stated that this offer was made following her success in obtaining a temporary injunction on May 30, 2024, which prevented the company from utilizing its majority shareholders’ rights.

“After the court granted my injunction request to hault my dismissal at the extraordinary board meeting in May, HYBE offered me money to leave the company. However, my objective in this matter was not financial gain, so I refused,”she expressed.

Min Hee-jin accused HYBE’s chairman, Bang Si-hyuk, of being emotionally offended by her leadership of the subsidiary company (ADOR).

“The crux of this dispute is not about the grand ideals of company growth or system improvement. It is simply a public execution ordered by a chairman who felt personally offended by a subsidiary company.”

However, HYBE refuted her allegations made during the exclusive interview. The parent company of ADOR claimed that no financial offer was made to her. Moreover, HYBE clarified that the internal audit conducted in April 2024 was not “illegally ordered”but was reinforced by substantial evidence against Min Hee-jin.

For context, the internal audit carried out by HYBE in April revealed serious allegations against the former CEO of ADOR, including conspiracy and management embezzlement accusations. A lawsuit was instituted against her for allegedly leaking confidential business information and conspiring with Dunamu to destabilize HYBE stock, among other allegations.

Min Hee-jin claims HYBE is obstructing NewJeans’ business operations

During her exclusive discussion with JoongAng Ilbo, Min Hee-jin reiterated that Bang Si-hyuk had assured her that HYBE would not interfere in her decision-making processes regarding ADOR and NewJeans. She also mentioned that Billboard Columnist Jeff Benjamin had reached out concerning a defamatory article about her.

According to her, Jeff Benjamin received the article from TAG, HYBE’s public relations agency, which allegedly defamed Min Hee-jin. However, she did not reveal specifics about the article during her interview, and Benjamin has yet to respond to her claims. Additionally, she asserted that her dismissal as CEO of the label on August 27, 2024, was unjust.

“I was terminated while organizing a surprise fan meeting for Korean fans. The vice presidents were also abruptly sidelined. Work on the next album has been stalled. This is unfortunate, and it reflects HYBE’s obstruction towards NewJeans’ business,”she remarked.

To summarize, Min Hee-jin was abruptly dismissed from her position as CEO of ADOR on August 27, 2024, during a shareholders’ meeting by the label’s independent board of directors. Reportedly, HYBE leveraged its majority shareholder rights, owning 80% of ADOR’s shares.

Min Hee-jin argued that HYBE violated the court’s injunction mandate that prohibited the company from exerting its voting rights. Notably, the injunction she sought in May 2024 restrained HYBE from temporarily using their voting rights to terminate her at the May 30, 2024, shareholders’ meeting. Therefore, HYBE could legitimately exercise its voting rights in any subsequent shareholders’ meetings.

On August 27, Kim Joo-young was appointed as the new CEO of ADOR, while Min Hee-jin was proposed the position of internal producer for NewJeans until November 2024.

Subsequently, on September 11, NewJeans hosted a YouTube livestream advocating for HYBE to reinstate the former CEO by September 25. ADOR’s independent board of directors declined this request.

According to NME, Min Hee-jin was presented with a revised contract by ADOR, which would allow her to remain as internal producer for NewJeans during the remaining five years of the group’s contract, instead of leaving in November 2024.

Min Hee-jin has decided not to accept the contract and continues to demand reinstatement as the label’s CEO.

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