Min Hee-jin Demanded 'Exclusive Right to Terminate NewJeans Contract' Early This Year... HYBE Rejected

Amid legal disputes between Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, the agency of the group 'NewJeans,' and its parent company HYBE, claims have emerged that Min demanded the exclusive authority to unilaterally terminate NewJeans' exclusive contract as CEO last February. ADOR denied this, stating it was a request for independent label management.

Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, is making a statement on the 25th at the Korea Conference Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, regarding the conflict with the parent company HYBE. Earlier, HYBE announced the results of an interim audit on ADOR's management, including CEO Min Hee-jin, and stated that they would file charges against them for breach of duty and other allegations. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the 2nd, Sejong, the legal representative of Min, stated, "On January 25th, CEO Min Hee-jin requested in a face-to-face meeting with HYBE CEO Park Ji-won that matters concerning the selection of external contractors and the signing of important contracts, including exclusive contracts, be under the authority of the CEO."

They explained that this was a request to resolve unreasonable interference that occurred during NewJeans' debut process and to enable independent label management.

If Min's request were accepted, NewJeans would be able to terminate their exclusive contract solely at Min's discretion without going through ADOR's board of directors or HYBE's involvement. Under the current contract, like other agencies, the termination of an artist's exclusive contract requires board approval. HYBE reportedly viewed this proposal as excessive and sent a rejection response.

Currently, ADOR's board consists of three members, including Min and her close associates. Min's board could decide to terminate NewJeans' contract. Under the current structure, if such a move is detected, HYBE, which holds 80% of ADOR's shares, can convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to replace ADOR's board. If HYBE's board opposes the contract termination, NewJeans' departure would be impossible.

If Min gains unilateral authority to terminate the exclusive contract, HYBE would lose its defense line to prevent NewJeans from leaving. Since NewJeans is the only group under ADOR, if they terminate the contract, only the staff would remain in the company.

Some interpret Min's demand in the same context as the conversation transcript revealed through the interim audit results on the 25th of last month, which stated "ADOR has become an empty shell." At that time, Min's close associate, Mr. A, proposed options such as ▲ exercising a put option exit on January 2, 2025, and ▲ ADOR becoming an empty shell. Min reportedly responded with "Awesome."

The two sides also clashed over the 13.5% stake of Min's shares subject to the put option. According to a previous shareholder agreement, Min could transfer her shares to HYBE at a value equivalent to 13 times ADOR's operating profit through the put option. However, she demanded this be changed to 30 times the operating profit.

Min claimed that this was at the level of 'casual talk.' At a press conference on the 25th of last month, she said, "I have never planned, intended, or executed a takeover of management rights," and described the controversial conversation transcript as "a worker's complaint," "idle talk," and "words spoken after a quarrel with my spouse."

She added, "I am curious about the intention behind packaging casual talk as something serious to defame me," and argued, "I did not betray HYBE; HYBE betrayed me. This is a frame to exploit and suppress me after squeezing out as much as they could."

If an extraordinary shareholders' meeting is held at ADOR, Min's dismissal is expected to follow, as HYBE, the majority shareholder, can lead the vote to remove the CEO. HYBE anticipates that replacing the management will take about two months.