The current top story is the ongoing dispute between HYBE and Min Hee-jin, the CEO of its subsidiary label ADOR. HYBE has taken legal action against ADOR executives, including Min Hee-jin, for alleged attempts to seize control of ADOR’s management. In response, Min Hee-jin has accused ILLIT, a new girl group under HYBE’s sub-label Belift Lab, of plagiarism and even held an urgent press conference to refute HYBE and Bang Si-hy
At the press conference on April 25th, netizens were able to hear Min Hee-jin’s arguments and as a result, some even speculated that Bang Si-hyuk and Min Hee-jin may have dated in the past and this current conflict is a result of their previous relationship.
Netizens noticed that in a recent conversation between Min Hee-jin and Bang Si-hyuk, she spoke very politely about him even while expressing her grievances about mistreatment. Interestingly, she did not use honorifics when mentioning the names of LE SSERAFIM members Sakura and Kim Chae-won. Some people began to speculate about their relationship after seeing the cute stickers they exchanged, as if they were a couple, in their Kakaotalk conversation.
What’s even more surprising is that Bang Si-hyuk gave Min Hee-jin complete freedom to do as she pleased at HYBE. Initially, when Min Hee-jin joined HYBE, she had plans to form a girl group under Source Music. However, disagreements arose when Source Music recruited LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chae-won and Sakura, causing Min Hee-jin to convince Bang Si-hyuk to let her establish the label ADOR and bring four trainees from Source Music, including Minji, Haerin, Danielle, and Hanni, to form the group NewJeans.
Despite the objections from Source Music, Bang Si-hyuk decided to grant Min Hee-jin’s request and allowed her complete autonomy in producing and managing NewJeans. Additionally, he offered Min Hee-jin a discounted rate for 18% of ADOR shares, a privilege that had not been previously extended to anyone at HYBE.
Despite the widespread speculation and suspicion among netizens, the alleged romance is merely based on information from press releases and has yet to be confirmed.
On April 22nd, HYBE made the decision to audit ADOR and asked Min Hee-jin to step down. This was due to their suspicion that ADOR executives were plotting to gain management control and make ADOR an independent entity separate from HYBE, with Min Hee-jin at the helm. In response, Min Hee-jin voiced her grievances about HYBE disregarding her report on ILLIT’s plagiarism of NewJeans.
Following the audit, HYBE released a statement revealing that they had gathered sufficient evidence, including messages from Min Hee-jin discussing plans to break away from HYBE and seeking advice from a shaman regarding BTS’s military service, among other things. As a result, HYBE swiftly filed a complaint against the female CEO for breaching trust, interrupting her press conference.
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