The ongoing conflict between HYBE, led by Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, and ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin appears headed for legal action. HYBE recently made public selected KakaoTalk exchanges between Min and two ADOR executives from April 4, alleging they demonstrate Min’s concerted effort to seize control of management. Consequently, HYBE has filed a criminal complaint against Min and associated parties for breaches of duty.
In response, Min held a press conference refuting the accusations as an orchestrated drama. She denied any intent to take control and accused HYBE of betrayal, framing her to justify removal. Legal representation for HYBE and Min’s camp is provided by Kim & Chang and Shin & Kim respectively.
According to industry sources, the chat logs disclosed by HYBE coincide with the day after ADOR executives and legal representatives of NewJeans criticized Park Ji-won, HYBE CEO, and Kim Tae-ho, CEO of BELIFT LAB (ILLIT’s agency), for allegedly imitating NewJeans. The logs allegedly reveal plans to deliberately devalue ADOR shares, attract investors, and secure a new deal with NewJeans.
HYBE also accused Min of “shamanistic management,” alleging she consulted a female shaman on various matters, including BTS members’ military enlistment. Min refuted these claims, asserting HYBE’s dissemination of false information and character assassination.
Min further claimed to be subjected to retaliatory black propaganda after reporting wrongdoing internally. The controversy extends to documents titled “1945 Project” and “HYBE’s Sins,” which HYBE interpreted as takeover schemes. Min insisted they are misconstrued notes reflecting frustration rather than serious plans.
Additionally, Min countered suspicions of meeting with external investors by stating, “I cannot disclose details due to confidentiality obligations, but I am entangled in knots where I cannot utilize my 18% stake in ADOR due to shareholder agreements made last year.” She further asserted, “Since the beginning of this year, I have only engaged in renegotiations and sought advice from acquaintances.”
Accompanied by Lee Sook-mi, an attorney from Shin & Kim, who stated, “There are no actions undermining the company’s value in the transcripts HYBE has raised concerns about. Moreover, breach of duty cannot be established solely on the basis of speculation.”
Min alleged conflicts with Bang since the early days of her tenure at HYBE and disclosed a KakaoTalk conversation where Bang asked, “Can we stomp on aespa (a popular girl group under the competing agency SM Entertainment)?”
Min said, “It may seem like I have been running ADOR with Bang’s support, but that is definitely not the case.” She continued, “Contrary to HYBE’s initial promise to NewJeans of the title ‘Our First Girl Group,’ they debuted LE SSERAFIM first and demanded that NewJeans refrain from promoting while using the label ‘Min Hee-jin’s Girl Group’ for LE SSERAFIM. This led to protests from NewJeans parents about neglecting their children.”
Min also revealed chat logs with NewJeans members’ parents, where they criticized HYBE. She said, “I had to stop Hyein (a NewJeans member) from turning on Phoning (a fan communication app) to talk about our situation. The parents of NewJeans members were very worried that I might make extreme decisions.”
She further expressed, “Unreasonable demands from HYBE have persisted,” “(HYBE’s selling of photo cards) disrupted the market and damaged the music industry,” “(There are) a lot of bastards at HYBE,” and “(After seeing ILLIT, a group allegedly imitated NewJeans) I thought they were trying to kill NewJeans (by stealing their uniqueness),” among other furious revelations.
The dispute between HYBE and Min is anticipated to reach a turning point at the ADOR board meeting convened by HYBE on the 30th. If Min and her allies within ADOR refuse to attend, the board meeting will be rendered powerless.
HYBE plans to convene an interim shareholders’ meeting with court approval to pass a motion for Min’s dismissal. Min has not yet decided whether to attend but expressed a desire to represent NewJeans if Bang suggests it.
Industry analysts view this dispute as a litmus test for HYBE’s multi-label system. Critic Yuni Lim commented, “While most major record labels like Universal Music operate under a multi-label system, they generally consist of diverse genres with minimal overlap. The controversy surrounding ILLIT’s imitation of NewJeans also highlights the difficulty for HYBE’s subsidiary labels, all within the K-pop genre, to differentiate themselves due to overlapping debut and activity periods.”
