On October 11, a hearing took place at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, regarding Min Hee-jin’s request for an injunction to convene an extraordinary meeting of ADOR shareholders and to be reappointed internal director.
During the hearing, Min Hee-jin’s side delivered oral argument materials, stating: “According to pages 9 and 10 of the attached documents, an internal HYBE employee reported that ILLIT’s creative director requested NewJeans’ project proposal from the planning stage and that ILLIT’s project proposal was identical to NewJeans’ .“
They continued: “The informant provided the materials at the request of ILLIT’s creative director, but expressed discomfort, saying, “I never imagined they would copy everything exactly.” It appears that the court was presented with all the same materials, but they continue to deny it, even though they clearly used these references.’ The whistleblower was upset that Belift Lab continued to maintain that the plagiarism allegations were false.”
Min Hee-jin’s team said: “Even though the facts are clear, Belift Lab continues to deny the plagiarism allegations and HYBE has overlooked the matter. Former CEO Min Hee-jin internally expressed concerns about the “ILLIT copy of NewJeans” on April 3, and it was proven through objective evidence that her concerns were legitimate. HYBE responded to Min Hee-jin’s internal complaints with an audit, but this shows that the audit was an illegal and unfair process.”
Since Min Hee-jin’s official position has been made public, attention is now focused on what further statements HYBE and ADOR will release. Previously, HYBE and ADOR had strongly denied Min Hee-jin’s claim that ILLIT was created by copying NewJeans.
Meanwhile, HYBE filed a complaint against Min Hee-jin for breach of duty on April 25 and appointed Kim Joo-young as ADOR’s new CEO on August 27.
Min Hee-jin, who was appointed CEO of ADOR in November 2021, lost management rights after two years and nine months. Min Hee-jin claims she was fired unilaterally, while HYBE claims the leadership change followed proper procedures.
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.
HYBE will hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on October 17 to discuss the reappointment of Min Hee-jin as internal director. HYBE’s proposed five-year term for Min Hee-jin’s involvement in the production of NewJeans coincides with the remaining term of NewJeans’ contract.
Source: Daum
