Embattled CEO Min Hee-jin of Korean agency ADOR, which manages K-pop girl group NewJeans, denied that she has talked to any investor in an attempt to take over the company and break away from HYBE.
ADOR is an agency under HYBE, which owns 80 percent of the company. Min Hee-jin owns 18 percent while the remaining two percent is owned by the ADOR management.
HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk (left) and ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin (HYBE)
NewJeans (Instagram)
ILLIT (X)
On April 22, HYBE announced that it started auditing ADOR and Min Hee-jin for their attempt to take over management rights of ADOR.
HYBE requested ADOR to convene a general shareholders' meeting and sent a letter on April 22 requesting Min Hee-jin’s resignation.
In a report by Korean media outlet Segye on April 23, HYBE reportedly discovered a document in ADOR’s internal materials that appears to outline a plan to attempt separation of management rights.
It added that Mr. A, who is known as Min Hee-jin’s closest associate, downloaded a large amount of HYBE information just before moving to ADOR early this year. Even after changing jobs, he reportedly downloaded the company's financial statements.
HYBE said that it confirmed this fact through computerized information log records.
In an exclusive interview by Korean media outlet Daily Sports on April 23, Min Hee-jin denied the allegations by HYBE.
“I have never met with any investor to take over management rights of the company. I never attempted to seize management of ADOR as HYBE claimed. How can management be taken over with my 18 percent stake?” he said.
She added, “Because HYBE owns 80 percent of the shares, it is impossible for me to take over ADOR’s management rights in the first place. It is impossible for ADOr to become independent from HYBE without the consent of HYBE, which holds 80% of the shares.
HYBE sent an audit questionnaire to Min Hee-jin and the current ADOR management. ADOR only has until April 23 to respond to the questionnaire. The audit questionnaire is said to contain information about the current ADOR management, including Min Hee-jin, conspiring to seize management rights, suspicions of external consulting, and personnel hiring irregularities.
The legal issue between HYBE and ADOR came just a month before NewJeans will make their comeback on May 24, release of Japanese music in June and fan meeting at Tokyo Dome.
Min Hee-jin said the audit is being conducted “because I made whistleblowing regarding HYBE from about a month until last week.”
ADOR issued a statement on April 22, accusing HYBE and Belift Lab’s new girl group ILLIT of copying NewJeans.
“When I raised issues about various other issues revealed by ILLIT’s copying incident of NewJeans, I was suddenly notified of dismissal procedures,” he said.
She said when various internal problems with HYBE were raised, she received a massive counterattack.
“Rather, ADOR had requested a statement on internal complaints and objections against HYBE by April 24, but we received a counterattack. If money was the goal, I would not have filed such a whistleblowing or objection in the first place,” she said.
She said, “HYBE seems to have framed the acquisition of management rights. Didn’t the Fifty Fifty incident become a precedent? I don’t do stupid things like that. It’s amazing that HYBE did something like this at a really important time for the team called NewJeans.”
“I wonder if there are cases where external articles are published at the same time as the audit notification, rather than announcing the audit results.
“HYBE doesn’t seem to have any consideration for the condition or schedule of its artists. I do not want to dilute the essence with unnecessary public opinion warfare. I have an important schedule coming up, so I’m thinking carefully about how best to conduct myself,” she said.
She added, “I was hoping to somehow resolve things with HYBE by raising an official issue internally, but the sudden attack made me think more. Looking at HYBE’s press announcement and raid today, it seems like the intention is to tarnish individuals by spreading public opinion in a direction that is different from the essence of the problem.”
“I never thought I would use this expression because it is a cliché, but I wonder if it will be like a David and Goliath battle, with individuals fighting against large corporations. However, I think that anyone who knows my attitude toward the work I have done so far will at least clearly understand the essence of the problem,” she said.
Related stories:
HYBE audits NewJeans’ agency, ADOR, CEO Min Hee-jin for takeover attempt
K-pop agency ADOR accuses HYBE’s new girl group ILLIT of copying NewJeans