HYBE and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin returned to court on June 12th for their third hearing. At the heart of the dispute was whether there were valid grounds and proper timing for terminating the shareholder agreement between HYBE and ADOR.
HYBE Argues Min Hee Jin’s Attempt to Extract NewJeans From ADOR Justifies Contract Termination
HYBE argued that it had every right to terminate the shareholder agreement on July 8th, 2023. “The purpose of this agreement was to ensure ADOR’s growth and to prevent any actions that could harm HYBE,” the company’s legal team said in court. “But we have clear evidence that Min was planning to take NewJeans—ADOR’s only artist and main source of revenue—away from the company. This is a clear breach of contract, which makes HYBE’s termination of the shareholder agreement lawful. Therefore, Min’s put option is no longer valid.”
They added that ADOR had paid Min 2.7 billion won ($2 million) in salary in 2024, even as she was allegedly working to take NewJeans away. “She’s now demanding that we buy her shares in ADOR for 27.8 billion won ($20.3 million), based on a valuation from when NewJeans was still stably part of the label. It’s an outrageous and unacceptable demand,” HYBE said.
HYBE also accused Min of orchestrating the complaint emails sent by NewJeans’ parents. According to HYBE, Min instructed deputy executives to draft those emails using the parents’ names. They pointed to specific phrases commonly used by Min and even direct instructions like “Send it as if it’s from Danielle’s mom” or “Make it sound like Hyein’s dad wrote it.”
“We found these instructions in detail. Of course, we had to conduct an audit of ADOR,” said the HYBE’s legal representative. “We exercised the call option after confirming the contract breach. The claim that there were no grounds for termination is baseless.”
They also referred to the court’s remarks from the injunction that Min won in May 2023, where the judge stated, “It is clear that there was an act of betrayal against HYBE.” HYBE’s representative explained, “That’s why we terminated the shareholder agreement in July. There was no trust left between us.”
>> NewJeans Fires Back at ADOR’s Claims Amid Contract Dispute: “Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up”
Min Hee Jin Says There Was No Master Plan and Calls HYBE’s Story Fiction
Min’s legal team countered by accusing HYBE of shifting its narrative. “They started by saying Min was trying to make ADOR independent and monopolize NewJeans. Now it’s about ‘extracting NewJeans’?” her lawyers said.
They laid out a timeline to argue that HYBE’s story doesn’t hold up. “HYBE terminated the shareholder agreement on July 8th. In August, board members under HYBE’s control tried to fire Min. She then filed for an injunction to regain her position, but the court dismissed it. Min officially exercised her put option and resigned in November,” they explained. “During that time, NewJeans members were left adrift, without proper care or support. When they asked HYBE to reinstate Min Hee Jin to restore stability, HYBE refused. That’s what led to the press conference in late November.”
Min’s side argued that HYBE’s claim that Min plotted everything from the beginning is pure fiction. “They’re saying Min sent a correction request in April, knowing HYBE would retaliate with an audit, and that she planned to hold a press conference, get fired, and then take the members with her—all in advance? It’s absurd,” they said. They also maintained that HYBE’s call option is invalid, and Min’s put option was exercised properly.
They argued HYBE’s logic requires Min to be a time traveler, suggesting she somehow knew in 2019 that Source Music would debut Sakura first or that NewJeans would eventually debut under ADOR. “It’s completely implausible,” her team said.
They also pointed out that even if Min had tried to extract NewJeans from the label, it happened after the shareholder agreement was terminated in July. “The members’ formal termination notices didn’t come until November,” they said. “How can HYBE claim a breach happened before that?”
Debate over evidence and blocked presentation
HYBE had planned to show a presentation containing KakaoTalk messages as evidence, but the court blocked it after Min’s team objected. The judge expressed doubts about whether the material was valid for open court and postponed the decision.
The two sides also clashed over whether the KakaoTalk messages could be used as evidence. Min’s team argued that Min’s consent for using those messages was given in 2019 when she was at BigHit, and it can’t be applied to audits conducted while she was CEO of ADOR. They said they officially withdrew consent in May 2024 and demanded that HYBE stop using the data, but HYBE ignored the request.
HYBE countered that the data was collected legally from a work computer using keyword searches and that no illegal wiretapping or surveillance was involved. “This isn’t a criminal case. In civil lawsuits, this kind of evidence is admissible,” HYBE said.
The next court hearing is scheduled for September 11th, 2025. The outcome could have a major impact on Min Hee Jin’s put option, as well as the future legal status of both ADOR and NewJeans.
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