Min Hee-jin Retains CEO Position Following Court Decision

Courtesy of HYBE's website

Hybe, the South Korean entertainment conglomerate, has appointed three of its executives to the board of its sublabel ADOR, known for managing the popular girl group NewJeans. This move grants Hybe control of ADOR's board amid an ongoing dispute over the sublabel's management rights.

Min Hee-jin, the CEO of ADOR, retained her position after an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held in Seoul. This decision came in accordance with a court injunction granted on Thursday, which prevented Hybe from using its voting rights to dismiss her.

Hybe, which owns an 80 percent stake in ADOR, initially planned to remove Min from her role, citing allegations that she conspired with aides to take control of the company. Min has consistently denied these accusations.
 

▲ Courtesy of HYBE's websiteThe newly appointed board members are Hybe’s Chief Human Resources Officer Kim Ju-young, Chief Strategy Officer Lee Jae-sang, and Chief Financial Officer Lee Kyung-jun. The previous board members, known only as Shin and Kim, who were close aides of Min, were dismissed.

This restructured board is expected to address confusion among ADOR employees and provide support for NewJeans, which recently released a new single. However, there are concerns within the industry about potential conflicts between CEO Min and the new board members over key decisions.

The conflict began on April 22 when Hybe launched an audit into ADOR's management, suspecting Min of attempting to usurp control. Later in April, Hybe reported Min to the police on breach of trust charges. They claimed she sought to separate ADOR from Hybe, taking NewJeans with her. Min denied the allegations, attributing the audit to her internal whistleblowing.

On Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court acknowledged Min's intention to gain independent control of ADOR but stated she had not significantly advanced this plan. The court described her actions as a "betrayal" but did not deem them a "breach of trust" as alleged by Hybe.

Sayart 

Blue YIM, yimyoungseo1010@naver.com