Min Hee Jin, the former CEO of ADOR, has filed a formal complaint against two top executives at HYBE, ADOR’s parent company, accusing them of breach of trust.
On Tuesday, Min Hee Jin’s legal team announced that they had reported HYBE’s Chief Communications Officer Park Tae Hee and PR Director Jo Seong Hoon to the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul on charges of breach of trust. This comes after claims that the executives failed to meet their responsibilities while promoting the popular K-pop group NewJeans.
Min Hee Jin stated, “These individuals were part of HYBE’s Shared Services PR team and were paid commissions by ADOR to promote NewJeans. Instead of fulfilling their duties, they downplayed the group’s achievements, which caused significant harm to both ADOR and NewJeans.” She added, “I hope they face criminal charges appropriate to their actions.”
The conflict between Min Hee Jin and HYBE has been escalating since April. At that time, HYBE launched an internal audit, accusing Min Hee Jin and other ADOR executives of attempting a hostile takeover of the company. In response, Min Hee Jin’s team claimed the real source of the conflict stemmed from allegations of plagiarism involving NewJeans, raised by BELIFT Lab’s ILLIT.
In August, Min Hee Jin was removed from her ADOR’s CEO role and appointed as an inside director. She demanded to be reinstated as CEO, but her request was rejected. On Wednesday, Min Hee Jin resigned from her position as an inside director at ADOR. It informed HYBE of her intention to exercise her put option, demanding that HYBE buy back her shares in the company.
As the legal battle intensifies, multiple lawsuits are expected between Min Hee Jin and HYBE. She had previously filed complaints against HYBE’s Chief Operating Officer, Kim Tae Ho, and Vice President Choi Yoon Hyuk. In addition, HYBE subsidiaries, including Source Music and BELIFT Lab, have filed lawsuits for damages of tens of millions of dollars from Min Hee Jin.
Meanwhile, NewJeans, the K-pop group at the center of some of the tension, is also in conflict with HYBE. On November 13, NewJeans sent a formal notice to ADOR, demanding corrective action be taken within 14 days. If their demands are not met, the group has threatened to terminate their exclusive contract with the company.
>> Min Hee Jin Faces $3.6 Million Lawsuit Over ‘False Claims’ About NewJeans Management
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