The feud between HYBE and ADOR’s Min Hee-Jin reached a tipping point on August 27 shocking the entire Korean entertainment industry. The latest controversy involves the sudden dismissal of Min Hee-Jin, the creative mind behind the success of NEWJEANS, from her position as CEO of ADOR.
Despite HYBE’s explanations, Min Hee-Jin claims her removal was unjust and violated existing agreements. This unfolding drama has left fans and industry insiders questioning the motivations behind her ousting.
Min Hee-Jin Alleges: Unlawful Dismissal
Min Hee-Jin, through her legal representatives, has alleged that her removal from ADOR was unfair and illegal.
She asserts that the decision directly contradicts a shareholder agreement that guaranteed her position as CEO for five years.
The agreement was intended to protect her role and ensure stability within the company. However, the board of directors, influenced by HYBE, moved forward with her dismissal, allegedly without valid grounds.
Procedural Concerns and Legal Battles
One critical issue Min Hee-Jin’s team raised is the procedural irregularities surrounding her dismissal. According to ADOR’s articles of association, board meetings require a one-week notice.
However, the notification period was abruptly shortened to one day, raising suspicions that this was a deliberate move to prevent Min Hee-Jin from adequately responding. This legal battle now centres on whether HYBE’s actions were justified or a calculated power play.
Official statement by Min Hee-Jin’s team
Min Hee-Jin’s legal counsel released an official statement explaining her side of the story.
Hello.
This is Markol Consulting Group, who is in charge of media communications alongside law firm SHIN & KIM LLC, who is representing Min Hee-Jin.
The board of directors dismissed Min Hee-Jin from her CEO position at the meeting held on August 27, at 1 pm.
This decision to dismiss her is an illegal decision that directly contradicts the shareholder agreement and the provisional injunction against the prohibition of exercising of voting rights
The shareholder agreement states that HYBE should take necessary measures such as exercising voting rights so that Min Hee-Jin can maintain her position of CEO and executive director of ADOR for five years or should other necessary measures need to be taken, a director nominated by HYBE should still have their voting rights exercised at ADOR’s board meeting.
HYBE tried to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on May 31 on the topic of dismissing Min Hee-Jin and internal directors but the court ruled that HYBE could not exercise their voting rights in favor of that agenda.
This is because there was no reason for them to dismiss Min Hee-Jin or have her resign.
HYBE claims the shareholder agreement between them and Min Hee-Jin has been terminated but that claim has no grounds. Min Hee-Jin has not acknowledged the termination of the shareholder agreement.
Therefore, we would like to make it clear that this decision to dismiss Min Hee-Jin is a clear violation of the shareholder agreement and disregards the court’s decision.
Currently, there are reports circulating the media Min Hee-Jin is stepping down as CEO but will remain in her position as an in-house executive director and continue to be in charge of NewJeans.
This is based on the information shared by the board of directors, which is a clear lie. CEO Min Hee-Jin was dismissed against her own will, she did not resign.
And the ADOR board of directors unilaterally notified Min Hee-Jin that she would only be in charge of [NEWJEANS’] production.
It is deceiving the public to provide media play as if Min Hee-Jin stepped down from the CEO position on her own will and would only take on producing duties.
The board’s decision also had issues with its procedural process. According to ADOR’s articles of association, the board of directors is supposed to convene meetings once each director is provided a one week advance notice.
However, at the extraordinary general meeting, there was an amendment to the articles of association, changing the notification period for the convening of a meeting from one week to one day advanced notice.
We strongly suspect this was a preemptive measure to not provide ample response time, with the idea of dismissing Min Hee-Jin in mind.
In fact, the chairman of ADOR’s board of directors, Kim Joo-Young, only shared the meeting agenda of changing the company CEO on August 24.
The court’s decision has revealed there was no validity to the claims that HYBE made of her violating company policy.
Nevertheless, the board of directors, which is composed of a large number of directors appointed by HYBE, decided to dismiss Min Hee-Jin and even misled the public by distorting the fact that she was not dismissed, but resigned.
We would like to state again, the decision to dismiss Min Hee-Jin is a violation of the shareholder agreement and an illegal decision that is ignoring the court’s decision. — Min Hee-Jin
HYBE’s Response: A Different Narrative
In contrast, HYBE maintains that the shareholder agreement between them and Min Hee-Jin has been terminated, rendering her removal legitimate. They argue that the decision was not made lightly and was in the company’s best interest. Despite this, Min Hee-Jin has not acknowledged the termination of the agreement, further complicating the situation.
Impact on NEWJEANS and ADOR’s Future
With Min Hee-Jin no longer at the helm, there are concerns about the future of NEWJEANS and ADOR. While she remains involved in the production of NEWJEANS, her reduced role may impact the group’s creative direction. Fans are anxiously watching to see how this power struggle will affect one of K-pop’s rising stars and the company that nurtured them.
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