On May 21st, a media outlet published a conversation that included circumstantial evidence suggesting that ADOR’s CEO Min Hee-jin wrote and personally edited the protest letter sent to HYBE by NewJeans’ parents in the beginning of last month.
According to the dialogue, during the review process of NewJeans’ parents’ letter, Min asked ADOR’s Vice CEO Lee if they could take advantage of the fact that the mothers of NewJeans did not sign a contract with HYBE. Min then inquired if the exclusive contract had any connection to HYBE, to which Lee responded that there was no relation and that the contract was between ADOR and the artist. Min followed up by asking if there were any other provisions they could object to, and also suggested considering the wording from the mothers’ perspective.
Despite this, CEO Min was discovered attempting to influence the mothers of NewJeans. During their interaction, CEO Min argued that the responsibility of reporting to the Fair Trade Commission fell on the mothers, rather than the subsidiary. They also claimed that this approach would prove their innocence, as opposed to having ADOR report and potentially sparking contention.
In a similar development, HYBE has alleged that CEO Min manipulated the arguments and opinions of NewJeans’ parents to exert pressure on HYBE. These alleged actions were brought to light on April 3 and were discussed during the provisional injunction lawsuit held on May 17th. According to HYBE’s legal representative, Kim & Chang, CEO Min allegedly instructed NewJeans’ parents to express their dissatisfaction first in order to avoid potential contract violations between shareholders, as any issues raised by CEO Min or ADOR could become problematic. In essence, HYBE claims that CEO Min used NewJeans and their parents to further her own agenda.
When asked about the legitimacy of the messages, Sejong Law, representing Min Hee-jin, stated that they were currently unsure due to the fact that CEO Min Hee-jin and Vice CEO Lee did not give their consent for the messages to be obtained. However, Kim & Chang stressed that the audit was legally carried out with the information provided on KakaoTalk, which they believe to be conclusive evidence.
Previously, NewJeans’ parents had emailed HYBE and requested that they take corrective measures as the reputation and image of NewJeans had been negatively impacted. They asserted that the girl group ILLIT had copied NewJeans’ concept, styling, and choreography.
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