In a recent legal battle over the management rights at HYBE and its subsidiary ADOR, Min Hee-jin, the head of the two companies, has been prohibited from being dismissed or fired by HYBE. The Seoul Central District Court made this decision regarding Min Hee-jin’s provisional disposition application on the 30th of May. Both ADOR and HYBE have issued official statements in response to the court ruling.
Min Hee-jin, who has been accused by HYBE of attempting to seize control of the company, took preemptive legal action to prevent her dismissal and removal from the CEO position by HYBE. She had submitted a provisional disposition application to the court to prohibit HYBE from exercising its voting rights to dismiss Min Hee-jin as a board member. Following the court’s decision on the matter, Min Hee-jin made an official statement through the company’s legal affairs department.
According to ADOR’s legal representative, on April 22nd of this year, HYBE proposed convening an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and preparing to dismiss Min Hee-jin as a representative director of ADOR at the meeting scheduled for May 31st. However, this action was deemed a violation of the contract signed between Min Hee-jin and HYBE. Therefore, on the 7th of this month, Min Hee-jin filed a provisional disposition application with the court to prohibit HYBE from dismissing her.
Both HYBE and ADOR presented relevant evidence during this period, and after careful examination of the arguments put forth by both sides, the Seoul Central District Court issued its decision on May 30th. As a result, at the upcoming extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, HYBE is prohibited from dismissing Min Hee-jin. Failure to comply would result in a compensation of 20 billion Korean won to her.
ADOR stated that the contract signed by both parties includes a provision to maintain Min Hee-jin’s position as a representative director of ADOR for five years. HYBE did not have sufficient grounds to dismiss Min Hee-jin, and the court did not support HYBE’s claims, such as private conversation content, as a reason for dismissal. ADOR hopes that HYBE will respect the court’s decision. Should HYBE attempt to dismiss Min Hee-jin and two other directors without just cause, it would be considered a violation of the shareholder agreement and a disregard for the court’s judgment.
Furthermore, ADOR mentioned that during this time, there have been maliciously edited online posts spreading misinformation and malicious interpretations regarding the private lives of Min Hee-jin and ADOR employees, resulting in defamation issues. The company is prepared to take legal action in response to this.
Subsequently, HYBE also released an official statement, stating that the company respects the court’s ruling and will not dismiss Min Hee-jin at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting. However, HYBE also emphasized that the court’s decision highlighted Min Hee-jin’s attempt to lead NewJeans out of HYBE’s control, pressuring HYBE to sell its ADOR shares, thereby weakening HYBE’s control over ADOR. As such, HYBE will take follow-up measures within the limits permitted by law.