Overview:
Korean police rejected Min Hee-jin’s lawsuit against HYBE executives, ruling that their access to email during an audit was legal.
Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin has suffered another legal setback in her ongoing dispute with HYBE. Police have once again dismissed their complaint against former HYBE CEO Park Ji-won and Chief Communications Officer (CCO) Park Tae-hee, saying their access to his company’s email during an audit was legal.
According to a report from TenAsia on November 6, Seoul Yongsan Police Station reached a non-prosecution decision on October 14 regarding Min’s accusation that Park Ji-won and Park Tae-hee violated the Information and Communications Network Act in November last year.
Min alleged that Park and other executives illegally accessed and forensically examined his work laptop and email account, extracting private KakaoTalk messages and leaking them to the outside world. In response, HYBE argued that Min never officially returned his laptop and that the company’s internal audit, including the email inspection, was conducted within legal and procedural limits.
Police ultimately sided with HYBE, saying there was no evidence that Min had returned the laptop around August 2022, as she had claimed. Furthermore, HYBE’s controlling access to his work email account was deemed to be their responsibility. The same conclusion applied to the laptop used by the former deputy CEO of ADOR, who filed the complaint together with Min: there was no illegal seizure or unauthorized search, the investigation concluded.
In response to the latest decision, Min Hee-jin’s legal representative at Sejong Law Firm confirmed the result and said she intends to file an objection.
Industry observers now believe this ruling could weaken Min’s position in his ongoing civil litigation against HYBE. In particular, HYBE is said to be in possession of KakaoTalk messages in which Min and the former deputy CEO discussed in detail a plan to separate NewJeans from the label, information that could have a significant impact on the case.
This marks the second time Min’s legal claims on this topic have been rejected. A similar complaint filed in July 2024, accusing five HYBE executives of conducting an illegal audit, was also dismissed for lack of evidence.
Previously, on July 24, 2024, ADOR announced: “CEO Min Hee-jin and others filed a complaint at Yongsan Police Station today (July 24) against HYBE CEO Park Ji-won, Audit Committee Chairman Lim Soo-hyun, Legal Director Jung Jin-soo, Financial Director Lee Kyung-joon and Communications Director Park Tae-hee for obstruction of business, inspection of electronic documents, violation of the Law on Promotion of the Use of Communication and Information Network and Information Protection (Intrusion network, etc.) and defamation under the same law.”
They continued: “The defendants repeatedly and unlawfully obtained and leaked private messaging conversations and personal information, manipulating and modifying it to suit their intentions.”
Furthermore, they said: “In April, the defendants forcibly acquired work laptops owned by ADOR under the guise of a “controlled audit of the parent company” with the intent to fire Min Hee-jin from her position as CEO of ADOR, following her two incidents of internal whistleblowing. In this way, they illegally obtained private KakaoTalk conversations and conducted forensic analysis on a laptop that Min Hee-jin had restored and returned in 2022 when she joined ADOR, protecting personal conversations not related to work.“
The statement further stated: “The defendants edited and distorted obtained private conversations to create and distribute press releases with false information about Min Hee-jin’s management and work performance, thereby forming a negative public opinion against her.”
Finally, they underlined: “We have repeatedly asked the defendants to stop these actions, both officially and unofficially, as they harm artists and ADOR members and cause confusion among the public. However, the illegal actions of the defendants continued until recently and we can no longer allow the artists and members of ADOR to suffer from these illegal activities..”
Previously, Dispatch raised allegations of “kidnapping NewJeans members” based on KakaoTalk conversations between Min Hee-jin and a shaman. Dispatch claimed that Min, who was involved in the branding role for Source Music’s Team N debut project (which included members of NewJeans), intentionally delayed Team N’s debut schedule to spearhead NewJeans’ debut. Min Hee-jin’s side has firmly stated that these allegations are false and has announced plans for legal action.
Source: Daum
