[News Figures] Min Heejin, 'NewJeans' Mom,' Revolts Against HYBE

HYBE announced on the 25th that it plans to report the management of its subsidiary ADORE to investigative authorities on charges including breach of duty. At the center of the controversy is Min Hee-jin (45), CEO of ADORE.

CEO Min Hee-jin
Photo by Adore

CEO Min is a figure who has been recognized as an innovative director through her unique concepts. She joined SM Entertainment in 2002 through an open recruitment and led the concepts and artwork for SM’s idol groups such as Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x), Red Velvet, and EXO. Acknowledging her achievements, she was appointed as a registered director at SM in 2017.

When the group name Girls' Generation was decided during her early days as a new employee at SM, she personally created an image map for the Girls' Generation concept and presented it in front of Lee Soo-man, SM’s executive producer at the time. The colorful skinny jeans in Girls' Generation’s "Gee," EXO’s worldview and the "Growl" school uniform concept, and Red Velvet’s "Red Flavor" were all crafted by Min Hee-jin. The dreamy and unique concept of f(x)’s 2013 second full album "Pink Tape" is considered a masterpiece of Min Hee-jin’s style of artwork.

Having built a success story from a regular employee to an executive, Min Hee-jin left SM in 2018, about two years after her promotion to registered director. She appeared on the tvN variety show "You Quiz on the Block" and revealed that the reason for her resignation was that she felt she had devoted her 20s and 30s to work, and that she suffered from severe self-criticism and self-censorship. Then, in 2019, she made a spectacular comeback as HYBE’s Chief Brand Officer (CBO). HYBE entrusted her with overseeing brand design and the spatial design of the new Yongsan headquarters. She attracted attention with an annual salary of 526 million KRW, which was higher than that of HYBE CEO Park Ji-won (who earned 509 million KRW at the time). She was the only female executive among the top four entertainment companies to earn over 500 million KRW annually.

In November 2021, when HYBE established its subsidiary "ADORE," she took on the role of CEO. In 2022, the group NewJeans debuted. Min Hee-jin led the entire process from casting the five members to training, music, performance, and management systems, earning her the nickname "Mother of NewJeans." Following NewJeans’ success, the American entertainment media outlet Variety described her as "a K-pop branding and design innovator who redefined the concept of 'concept' that opened a new era for idol groups."