Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin has launched a new entertainment agency named ‘ooak,’ a move that comes nearly a year after she resigned from ADOR amid a bitter public feud with HYBE. Industry insiders widely believe the new company was created as a potential new home for the girl group NewJeans, should they win their ongoing legal battle.
The future of ‘ooak’ depends almost entirely on the upcoming verdict in the contract lawsuit between NewJeans and their current agency, ADOR. A Seoul court is scheduled to deliver its ruling on October 30th.
The decision will lead to two very different outcomes: If the court rules in favor of NewJeans they could potentially sign with Min Hee Jin’s new company. However, they would still likely face a separate lawsuit for damages from ADOR. If the court sides with ADOR, the members would be legally bound to the agency until their contracts expire in 2029. In that scenario, for Min Hee Jin to sign them, she would have to pay a massive penalty estimated to be in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sources note that it would be difficult for HYBE to challenge the new company’s creation based on a non-compete clause, as the agreement that contained it is currently being disputed in a separate lawsuit.
Min Hee Jin’s new company was officially registered on October 16th and is based in Seoul’s trendy Sinsa-dong district. It currently has a registered capital of 30 million won ($22,000).
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