The heated legal dispute between Min Hee-Jin, former CEO of Ador and Hybe continued in court with both parties that have exchanged sharp accusations for more than four and a half hours.
On 11 September, the central district court of Soul held the second hearing on the cause of Min Hee-Jin against Hybe regarding her ₩ 26 billion of demands for the Put option, while reviewing Hybe’s counters on the resolution of an shareholder agreement. Both Min Hee-Jin and Hybe Clo Jung Jin-Soo appeared as witnesses, engaging in an intense back and forth that crossed almost 270 minutes.
The session revolved around three main issues: the validity of the non-competition clause, the accusations of the album “Bulk-Buying” (Sajaegi) and the alleged meetings of Min with external investors.
Min claimed that the clause not of competition equivalent to a “slave contract”, claiming to have asked Hybe to review it or increase the multiple PUT option from 13x to 30x. Hybe contrasted that the reviews were possible and accuse Min of having given a misleading testimony, pushing Min to accuse them of “perjury”. Tensions intensified further while both sides accused the other of distorting the registers and misrepresented communications.
Another key dispute was if Hybe had engaged in “padded album” to increase sales in the first week of YOURelease of debut. Min cited the testimony of other Hybe’s affiliates who suggest suspicious practices, but Hybe rejected the statements, underlining that also Newjeans He sold an unusually high number of albums on the last day of their week out of the exit without accusations of fraud.
The debate intensified for the alleged meetings of Min with national and foreign investors, including a fund of sovereign wealth of Saudi Arabia. Hybe said he had evidence of these contacts, while Min has categorically denied any illicit and challenged the company to produce trials in court.
During the procedure, exchanges have become increasingly personal, with Hybe asks the judge to stop min from “Sleep” and min accusing Hybe of manufacturing transcripts of chat “Like a soap opera script.”
The dispute derives from the exercise of a Put option in November last year, worth about 26 billion ₩, based on Ador’s average operating profit. Hybe claims that the option is not valid due to a previous termination of the contract, while Min insists that its resignation have marked the real end of the agreement.
The Court has scheduled the next hearing for November 27, with closing topics scheduled for December 18th.
Sources: Daum
