Who Is The Real Victim in the HYBE and Min Hee-jin Controversy?

The conflict between HYBE and ADOR’s CEO Min Hee-jin started on April 22 when HYBE announced an internal investigation. The company claimed to have found evidence suggesting that ADOR’s management team, led by Min, had plotted to break away from HYBE and gain control over the company. In response, both parties have released official statements contradicting each other’s allegations. Additionally, Min caught the public’s attention by unexpectedly holding a press conference.

CEO Min stated that she had raised concerns about the similarities between HYBE and Belift Lab’s ILLIT and NewJeans. She also mentioned that HYBE had previously promised to debut NewJeans as its first girl group, but ultimately did not follow through. Min also expressed that she felt mistreated by HYBE in regards to the treatment of NewJeans. Additionally, she denied any attempts to take over management control and claimed that HYBE’s actions were part of a plan to remove her and keep her bound to a shareholder contract.

Despite HYBE’s claims, it was later revealed that most of the accusations made by Min were false. For example, HYBE countered Min’s statement that she did not receive a reply by providing evidence of a 6-page A4 response that was sent to her. Additionally, HYBE clarified that the decision to debut NewJeans under ADOR instead of Min’s separate label was made out of respect for her wishes, despite facing opposition from Source Music. In fact, HYBE even provided 16 billion won in compensation. Furthermore, the delay in NewJeans’ debut was attributed to the necessary restructuring and contract transfers within the company.

Regarding the allegation that NewJeans was given preferential treatment, it was stated that, due to a dispute between Source Music and Min, the debut schedule for NewJeans was delayed. As a result, LE SSERAFIM, which was prepared by Source Music, debuted first. To ensure that both groups had sufficient time to promote, a separate promotional period was agreed upon by both teams. Furthermore, the HYBE Communication department dedicated significant effort to promoting NewJeans, evidenced by their production of 273 press releases for the group in the past year.

During this time, various suspicions were raised about CEO Min, including an attempt to take over management rights, contact with outside investors, meeting with a shaman, and requesting termination of NewJeans’ contract and an increase in put options.

Despite CEO Min initially dismissing the suspicion of attempting to take over management rights and claiming the document was a joke between him and the deputy CEO A, it has been revealed that they had been working on a plan for several months and had even contacted outside investors. Despite this, CEO Min maintains that the investor is a personal acquaintance.

HYBE raised concerns about Min’s contact with a shaman. The released dialogue revealed that Min had discussed various topics with the shaman, including the BTS members’ military service, plans for a new label, management activities, and personnel matters. When asked about the shaman, Min simply replied, “He is someone I know. Is it not okay for me to know a shaman?”

Min was initially offered a put option equivalent to 13 times the operating profit by HYBE, but she was unsatisfied and requested an increase to 30 times. This would amount to around 200-300 billion won. However, after the controversy arose, HYBE revealed that Min had actually requested the put option to be raised. She justified her demand by stating that it reflected the production value of a boy group. However, the public was not convinced as it seemed unreasonable to determine the value of a yet-to-debut boy group. Furthermore, HYBE faced criticism for disclosing that Min also demanded the termination of NewJeans’ contract, which was funded with tens of millions of dollars.

In the course of events, it was revealed that Min’s claims of being a slave under HYBE were not true. Despite her previous statement that HYBE was treating her like a slave, it was proven to be incorrect. According to HYBE, Min will have the opportunity to sell her shares starting in November of this year, and the non-compete clause will also be lifted at the same time. Even if she chooses to remain still, HYBE stated that she would still hold 100 billion won in her possession. As for the disputed stake, HYBE stated that they would revise any ambiguous clauses to avoid any potential problems arising from differences in interpretation.

The source can be found at daum.