Explained: HYBE-Min Hee-jin legal feud in a nutshell

 Ador’s former CEO Min Hee-jin, left, and  HYBE's Chairperson Bang Si-hyuk / Yonhap

The strife between K-pop powerhouse HYBE and its subsidiary Ador’s CEO Min Hee-jin, who is known as NewJeans’ producer, is even more heightened as HYBE replaces Min with Kim Ju-young, its former chief human resource officer (CHRO), as Ador’s new head.

HYBE announced, Tuesday, that it held a board meeting on the day and appointed Ador’s new CEO to take over Min’s position, while Min remains as the company’s inside director and producer for NewJeans. It explained that Kim, who has expertise in human resources from working in different fields, is expected to take the role of stabilizing and restructuring the internal organization of Ador.

“Ador, internally, will separate production and management divisions. This has been a principle for all other (HYBE) multi-labels, but so far, Ador was the only exception where the CEO oversaw both production and management,” it said in the release.

“(With the recent changes), Ador plans to provide full support for NewJeans’ growth and greater success.”

However, Min quickly shared her side of the story on the management change, saying that she didn’t step down willingly and was fired, which violates the 한국을 shareholders’ agreement she had with the company. The agreement guarantees her a five-year term, of which she has only served two years.

She claimed HYBE’s decision also goes against the May 31 court order that prevents HYBE from exercising its voting rights to remove her from the position.

“HYBE claims to have terminated the shareholders’ agreement, but this claim has no basis, and CEO Min never acknowledged the termination,” Min’s law firm said in the release. “CEO Min was dismissed against her will and did not step down voluntarily. And Ador’s board of directors unilaterally notified her that she would be in charge of producing duties.”

The parent company soon refuted her claim, saying all the procedures for the board meeting were carried out properly, complying with the law and the company’s regulations. It added that Min was present at the meeting through video chat and the decision came after a “thorough discussion” of the best option for NewJeans’ and Ador’s future.

However on Friday, Min rejected a proposed contract from Ador that would have her continue producing for NewJeans, deeming the terms unreasonable. According to Min, the delegation of duties agreement allows her to produce NewJeans from Tuesday, the day of her dismissal, through Nov. 1. She argues that the contract’s short-term nature — just over two months — is impractical given NewJeans’ extensive plans, including a world tour in 2025.

Min, who previously worked at SM Entertainment for about 17 years, is a veteran creative director who took part in visual work for top K-pop stars including Girls’ Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO and Red Velvet, before joining HYBE in 2019 as chief brand officer (CBO).

In 2021, HYBE established its subsidiary label Ador, investing 16.1 billion won into the venture with Min at the helm as CEO. Following the meteoric rise of NewJeans the next year, Min secured a shareholder agreement with HYBE in March 2023, obtaining an 18 percent stake in Ador.

This agreement included a 15 percent put option, allowing her to sell her shares for 13 times the operating profit. Min and HYBE were negotiating to adjust the terms of the agreement later that year after Min requested to raise the price of put options.

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