On the morning of October 11, the Civil Settlements Division 50 of the Seoul Central District Court (presiding judge Kim Sang-hoon) held a hearing for the injunction case filed by Min Hee-jin against HYBE regarding the exercise of voting rights.
HYBE cited the case of sexual harassment in the workplace as the reason for the inevitable replacement of the CEO. Former ADOR B employee revealed in July that he was subjected to sexual harassment and aggressive comments from ADOR A executive. B also accused Min Hee-jin of trying to cover up the incident and defend A while revealing their private conversations without consent. However, HYBE stated “The investigation concluded that it could not be considered workplace bullying or sexual harassment” and Min Hee-jin’s team also stated that “I don’t agree with B’s statements“.
HYBE further criticized Min Hee-jin, “The appellant made outrageous comments, suggesting that the company should implement punishments for false accusers, rather than focusing on preventing future incidents and restoring damages. Additionally, it issued a press release, framing the controversy as a personnel matter unrelated to the company, which tarnished ADOR’s image and that of NewJeans by associating it with sexual harassment in the workplace..”
HYBE compared the situation to the conflict between FIFTY FIFTY and their agency ATTRAKT, claiming: “The appellant harassed the debtor through public opinion and sold the shares of ADOR, with a calculated plan to gain independence. It’s normal for producers to want to leave their group once it becomes successful. This case is no different. The applicant wants to become independent together with NewJeans and believes that NewJeans’ success is her own doing.”
Meanwhile, ADOR announced on August 27 that it had appointed Kim Joo-young as the new CEO, but stressed that “Although Min Hee-jin has stepped down as CEO, she will remain as in-house director and continue to oversee NewJeans’ production“.
Min Hee-jin’s side opposed this decision, claiming: “This dismissal violates the shareholders’ agreement and the prohibition on the exercise of voting rights. Min Hee-jin did not resign voluntarily but was fired against her will, and ADOR’s board of directors unilaterally assigned her to focus solely on production.“
On September 11, NewJeans held a live broadcast on YouTube, where it called for the reinstatement of Min Hee-jin as CEO. On September 13, Min Hee-jin filed a request for an injunction with the Seoul Central District Court to convene an extraordinary meeting of shareholders and to be reappointed as ADOR’s house director.
In this regard, ADOR stated on September 25: “The ADOR Board of Directors discussed the request to reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO and decided that it is unacceptable at this time. We have already offered her the role of overseeing NewJeans production for the next five years, in line with the remaining term of NewJeans’ contract.Min Hee-jin’s team continues to dispute this.
Source: Naver
