A Seoul court has barred K-pop giant HYBE from being fired Min Hee Jin as CEO of ADOR subsidiary following HYBE's internal audit and subsequent police report against the company's executive last month. The decision will keep Min in her role as CEO, thereby allowing her to retain control of the label's sole artist, girl group NewJeans.
As Bloomberg quotes from local Korean coverage, “Seoul Central District Court said HYBE's evidence and reasoning were insufficient to support the company's case for Min's dismissal.” Despite HYBE's 80% stake in ADOR (where Min has an 18% stake, with the final 2% held by other executives), the company cannot vote to fire Min, which it was expected to do at the board meeting. of the company's shareholders that was scheduled for Friday (May 31).
“We urge HYBE to respect the court's decision,” Min's lawyer said in a statement, per Bloomberg. “If Hybe takes any action to remove Min from her position as CEO, it will be in direct violation of the shareholders' agreement.” Legal representatives shared their hope that Min's leadership team at ADOR will also remain intact.
In its statement, HYBE acknowledged the court's decision and said it would not exercise its voting rights, but pledged to “proceed within the law.” The company noted that the court admitted that Min had sought ways to weaken HYBE's control over ADOR — efforts that could lead to ADOR operating independently, removing NewJeans from the HYBE system or pressuring HYBE to sell its shares in the subsidiary. The company says the sit still plans to pursue the breach of trust case after finding “substantial evidence that Min intentionally led the plan to take management control of the subsidiary.”
Meanwhile, the 2023 Billboard Women in Music honoree will be able to continue fronting NewJeans after the group released two new singles from ADOR: “How Sweet” and “Bubble Gum.” The group's debut Japanese single, “Supernatural” — which allegedly reinterprets a '00s Pharrell single — due out in June.
Despite the court's ruling, K-pop's ongoing power struggle has not been resolved, and in fact has only widened since HYBE's initial audit in April.
Following a request by HYBE to step down as CEO of ADOR, Min held an emotional two-hour press conference in which she detailed her concerns and struggles with other groups in the HYBE LABELS system. As The New York Times' Seoul reporter Jin Yoo Young noted in her reportMin's “pushback against HYBE and its founder, Bang Si-Hyuk, resonates widely in South Korea, where corporate life can be punishingly hierarchical.”
Last week, HYBE BELIFT LAB announced that it had filed a letter of complaint for obstruction of business and defamation against Min due to Min's claims that girl group BELIFT error had copied the music, style and creative concept of NewJeans. The conflict also involves the parents of NewJeans members, who have expressed concerns about the reputation and treatment of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein in a letter.
The court ruling comes after new material was released last Friday by NewJeans and fellow HYBE artist RM, both of which will likely bow significantly Advertising sign charts next week.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/newjeans-label-ceo-keeps-ador-role-court-blocks-hybe-dismissal/
