Min Hee-jin Proposes Acquisition of ADOR in Naver and World?

On May 17th, sources from Investment Bank and legal circles revealed that Min Hee-jin had suggested acquiring ADOR during a meeting with officials from Dunamu and Naver. She apparently urged Dunamu’s representative, A, to pressure HYBE into relinquishing its hold on ADOR. At present, Dunamu is the third-largest shareholder of HYBE with a 5.6% stake and the power to appoint directors.

During HYBE’s audit of ADOR, Min Hee-jin was reported to have reached out to both Naver and Dunamu. HYBE had already confirmed that ADOR had illegally obtained confidential trade information, including information on artists and regional revenue. As a result, an internal audit of ADOR was launched on April 22nd. This was done in order to investigate any attempts by CEO Min Hee-jin and ADOR to take over the management rights of the label, potentially by enticing outside investors to pressure HYBE into selling their stake in ADOR.

During the audit, HYBE discovered Kakaotalk transcripts on Min Hee-jin’s PC which revealed her communication with Naver and Dunamu. The messages from Min Hee-jin included comments such as “A from Dunamu doesn’t even understand what I’m saying XX”and “Naver side seems to understand me well”. HYBE also shared a conversation in which Min Hee-jin displayed excitement towards a plan proposed by ADOR’s Deputy CEO to secure cash through a put option and purchase ADOR shares from HYBE with the help of a financial investor (FI).

Despite owning only an 18% stake in ADOR, CEO Min is determined to secure the label’s management rights. This is due to the fact that HYBE holds the majority stake of 80%, while the remaining 2% is shared by two in-house directors, VP Shin and senior creative director Kim. In response to HYBE’s claim that she had met with outside investors to discuss taking over the management rights, Min Hee-jin vehemently denied this, stating that she had never met with any investors and had not given any opinions on the matter without the consent of the major shareholder. She was well aware that such actions would be impossible without their approval.

Despite HYBE’s insistence, evidence has been continuously revealing that CEO Min Hee-jin deceived the entire nation with her remarks at the press conference on April 25th.

In the meantime, the initial hearing for the legal action against HYBE’s voting rights, initiated by Min Hee-jin, will occur in the near future. Min Hee-jin’s intention is to block HYBE’s ability to exercise their voting rights and secure her position as CEO before the shareholder meeting at the end of this month. If the court grants her request, HYBE will be prohibited from exercising their voting rights and will not be able to immediately remove Min Hee-jin from her position.