Why Did the Court Rule in Favor of Min Hee-jin? “Evidence for ‘Plagiarism of NewJeans by ILLIT and Discrimination against NewJeans’ Exists”
As a result of the court's decision allowing Min Hee-jin to retain her position as CEO of ADOR, the dispute between Min Hee-jin and HYBE has taken a new turn
The Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 50 ruled that “HYBE should not exercise its voting rights in favor of the ‘dismissal of executive director Min Hee-jin’ at ADOR’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting” and ordered that “20 billion won be paid if this order is violated“.
The court found that the reasons HYBE cited for CEO Min Hee-jin’s alleged breach of duty and other grounds for dismissal were not sufficiently substantiated by the evidence presented.
Additionally, while it appeared that Min Hee-jin had been seeking ways to weaken HYBE’s control over ADOR by demanding changes to the shareholders’ agreement and possibly moving NewJeans out of HYBE’s control, the court stated that there was no clear evidence she had taken concrete steps to execute these plans.
Attorney Noh Jong-eon commented that while Min Hee-jin’s actions might be seen as betraying HYBE, they were provoked by HYBE’s initial discriminatory treatment and issues with album pushing. He indicated that both sides could be seen as betraying each other, and the court’s decision seemed to reflect this complexity rather than labeling Min Hee-jin’s actions as unilateral betrayal.
The court also noted that the various complaints Min Hee-jin raised, such as the plagiarism of NewJeans by ILLIT, discrimination against NewJeans and issues with album pushing, were legitimate concerns. They found that HYBE’s allegations that Min Hee-jin instigated NewJeans’ members’ parents to challenge these issues were not substantiated.
Regarding the alleged leaks of trade secrets, the court found it difficult to classify the information Min Hee-jin shared (like KakaoTalk conversations) as ADOR’s trade secrets or to prove any specific financial damage to ADOR caused by these leaks.
The court also rejected HYBE’s claims that Min Hee-jin’s actions in relation to stylist B, who was allegedly paid for services related to NewJeans’ advertisements, constituted breach of duty. They found no evidence that ADOR suffered financial loss due to these actions.
The court’s ruling prevents HYBE from voting on the dismissal of Min Hee-jin at ADOR’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting due to a lack of sufficient evidence of breach of duty or breach of the shareholders’ agreement.
Following the court’s decision, Min Hee-jin proposed reconciliation with HYBE at the press conference on May 31st, but HYBE has not issued a separate statement regarding this.
On the same day, HYBE held an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting at ADOR and dismissed the remaining board members, excluding Min Hee-jin, appointing new board members from HYBE, including CHRO Kim Joo-young, CSO Lee Jae-sang and CFO Lee Kyung-joon.
HYBE issued a statement after the court’s ruling, indicating that they plan to proceed with follow-up actions within the bounds of the law, acknowledging the court’s recognition that Min Hee-jin had sought ways to independently control ADOR.
