After months of legal battle with HYBE, Min Hee-jin announced her resignation from her position as internal director at ADOR. As per Soompi, Hee-jin has also terminated “the shareholder agreement with HYBE”. She was the former ADOR CEO. (Also Read | NewJeans demands to restore the position of former CEO Min Hee Jin: Gives Hybe a 2 week deadline)
Hee-jin accuses HYBE
Hee-jin issued a long statement calling her fight with HYBE a ‘hellish dispute’. She added that she didn’t want to “cling to money and settle into this twisted organisation”.
Hee-jin accused HYBE of unilaterally dismissing her but spreading “false information to the media that I had stepped down as CEO”. She wrote that she her all into reviving ADOR which was “devastated by HYBE’s severe breaches of the shareholder agreement”. Hee-jin said that HYBE’s “moral decay has reached its peak”, and “their dirty media play will continue”.
Her full statement is as follows:
Hello, this is Min Hee Jin. Today, I am resigning from my position as an internal director at ADOR. Additionally, I am terminating the shareholder agreement with HYBE and intend to hold HYBE legally accountable for breaches of this agreement. Furthermore, I will be taking necessary legal action one by one against the numerous illegal activities committed by HYBE and its affiliates.”
NewJeans has become twisted: Min Hee-jin
Despite the hellish dispute lasting over seven months with HYBE, which began with HYBE’s illegal audit in April, I have done everything in my power to uphold the shareholder agreement and restore ADOR to its state before April. However, HYBE has neither acknowledged its wrongdoing nor shown any signs of change, leading me to conclude that further efforts would be a waste of time. I had hoped HYBE would admit its mistakes and worked tirelessly to protect NewJeans within HYBE, which has become twisted. This is why I sent internal whistleblowing emails twice in April.
HYBE framed me: Min Hee-jin
However, instead of reflecting, HYBE fabricated absurd falsehoods and publicly displayed their shameful illegal audit, an unprecedentedly foolish act. They framed me, a minority shareholder and CEO, with the bizarre accusation of a “management takeover” and launched ignorant and irrational attacks that are hard to believe came from a large corporation.
After numerous twists and turns, it has finally become clear that my whistleblowing was based on undeniable facts and was a legitimate report, while HYBE’s ugly lies and hypocrisy are being exposed one by one. In fact, HYBE likely knew from the beginning that the contents of my whistleblowing were all true and that my concerns were legitimate. However, for those who prioritize their own interests and advancement, the essence of “problem-solving” was a task they most wanted to avoid.
Didn’t want to settle in twisted organization: Hee-jin
I did not expect them to repent, but I believed they would have at least a minimum level of conscience as human beings, which now seems to have been a naive misjudgment. Just as merely breathing does not mean one is truly alive, I did not want to cling to money and settle into this twisted organization. HYBE has continued to use its subsidiary labels to engage in unreasonable lawsuits, nitpicking, and unfair media play to bury me, while hypocritically presenting a producing delegation contract filled with toxic clauses as if they were doing me a great favour.
They insisted on discussing the R&R (Roles and Responsibilities), the core of the delegation contract, while simultaneously demanding incomprehensible conditions like forensic consent before the discussion, and only insisting on face-to-face meetings without providing the R&R document, which was an incomprehensible stance.
HYBE dismissed me: Min Hee-jin
Despite having unilaterally dismissed me, they spread false information to the media that I had stepped down as CEO to take on producing duties. It no longer surprises me that those who spread false information demand “confidentiality” from others with such shamelessness. HYBE’s actions in 2024 will be recorded as an unprecedented incident in K-pop history.
Over the past seven months, I have poured all my mental, economic, and physical resources into reviving ADOR, which was devastated by HYBE’s severe breaches of the shareholder agreement. It was a hellish battle against the baseless violence of a group disguised as a large corporation, but I did not back down and made every effort.
I’ll take legal action: Min Hee-jin
HYBE’s moral decay has reached its peak, and although their dirty media play will continue, I am not worried because the public has likely become aware of their patterns. Nevertheless, if there are any forces or media that unjustly slander me, I will not stand by and will take legal action. This unprecedented incident is not over yet, but I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to many people, including Bunnies (NewJeans’s fan club name), who have tirelessly supported and cheered me on for nearly half a year.
I’ve met the best people: Min Hee-jin
Ironically, through this fight with the worst company, I have met the best people, which is a special fortune. Some may not understand why I have endured this far, but there is a reason and meaning for someone like me to exist in this world. I hope you will continue to show interest in my new journey in K-pop. I conclude this message with a sense of relief, sharing these words with some people: “One person’s malicious actions should never tarnish the essence of the profession. This is truly wrong.”
What happened since April
The tiff, which led to a legal battle, started between HYBE and ADOR in April this year. Earlier, she had reported five executives of HYBE to the police over defamation and leaking her private messages to the media. In July, HYBE had said it would countersue her over false accusation. Amid this, HYBE also changed its leadership after Park Ji-won stepped down as CEO and Lee Jae-sang, its former chief strategy officer, replaced him.