HYBE CSO Lee Jae-sang’s Potential Succession to ADOR CEO: Implications for NewJeans-Related Work

On May 22nd, the investment banking (IB) industry reported that HYBE CSO Lee Jae-sang, CHRO Kim Joo-young, and CFO Lee Kyung-jun are highly anticipated to be appointed to ADOR’s new board of directors during the upcoming extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on May 31st.

The proposed agenda for the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of ADOR consists of two primary objectives: the removal of three existing board members, including CEO Min Hee-jin, and the selection of three new board members. As a result, HYBE has been actively assessing potential candidates for ADOR’s board in preparation.

Among the executives considered for new positions on the board, CSO Lee Jae-sang is the top choice for the role of “new CEO”at ADOR. Lee was initially suggested by HYBE as a potential board member for SM Entertainment during their attempt to acquire the company. At that time, Lee, who was heading HYBE America, was being considered for the position of new CEO if HYBE successfully acquired SM. Lee stressed the significance of evaluating SM’s current strategies and implementing HYBE’s successful business model.

Kim Joo-young, the first female HR team leader at Yuhan-Kimberly before joining HYBE from Krafton, is a highly skilled HR expert. With previous experience in accounting at Samil PwC, PwC Sydney and Kim & Chang, CFO Lee Kyung-jun played a pivotal role in HYBE’s KOSPI listing. In addition, CFO Lee Kyung-jun also serves as an internal director at HYBE’s subsidiary Source Music.

Since the beginning of the current situation, there have been rumors that these HYBE executives were being considered as potential candidates for ADOR’s board.

HYBE CLO Jung Jin-soo and Head of Management Planning Lee Jin-hwa are among the potential candidates for ADOR’s new board. They were previously suggested as potential board members for SM Entertainment during the company’s acquisition bid.

If the court grants Min Hee-jin’s injunction to prevent the exercise of voting rights against HYBE, two of the three current ADOR board members will be removed and replaced. This would give HYBE control over the board, allowing them to pass a resolution to dismiss Min Hee-jin as CEO. However, Min Hee-jin may have grounds to sue HYBE for violating the shareholder agreement.

HYBE intends to reorganize ADOR into a dual system, similar to the structure of other HYBE labels, where there are separate heads for production and management. This is currently not the case for ADOR, as Min Hee-jin holds both roles.

A high-ranking HYBE official has clarified that there are currently no plans to announce the appointment of new directors at ADOR’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on May 31st. However, the official emphasized the importance of having experts dedicated to their specific areas of production and management, as this can greatly improve efficiency. It is possible that HYBE may consider recruiting a new person for the production role after the board reshuffle.

The outcome of the court’s ruling on the injunction will have a major effect on the future organization of ADOR.

Several ADOR team leaders as well as members of ADOR’s only idol group NewJeans and their parents have all submitted petitions in support of Min Hee-jin for the injunction request.

If HYBE replaces Min Hee-jin and the current ADOR board with their own personnel, it is possible that several ADOR employees may choose to resign. According to HYBE, only those who were directly involved in taking control of the management will be asked to leave, and the remaining employees will not be held accountable.

In the event of multiple resignations by ADOR employees, other HYBE labels such as Pledis or Belift Lab may step in to temporarily manage NewJeans’ operations. During a meeting on April 25th, HYBE CEO Park Ji-won reassured the mothers of three NewJeans members that HYBE professionals would oversee the Tokyo Dome preparations, despite Min Hee-jin not providing relevant materials.

The source of the article is “nate”, which can be accessed at //m.news.nate.com/view/20240523n02839?sect=ent&list=rank&cate=interest.