Min Hee-jin is leaving NewJeans' agency ADOR and ending her contract with HYBE, but is "still determined to take legal measures against all of HYBE's illegalities," the former ADOR CEO said Wednesday.

The announcement comes seven months after HYBE began its internal audit against Min in April, accusing her of trying to get a third party to invest in ADOR and weaken HYBE's control over the company. The audit soon broke out into a legal spat between Min and HYBE, HYBE executives and HYBE's other subsidiaries including Belift Lab and Source Music.


"I have been trying to bring everything back to the way it was in April, to abide by the shareholder contract with HYBE and protect ADOR," Min said in a press release.

"But HYBE has not only failed to, but also seems to show no signs of admitting its wrongdoing. I have decided that it would be a waste of time to make any more efforts of this kind."

Min reiterated in her statement that it was the internal report she made in April regarding HYBE's treatment of girl group NewJeans and Belift Lab's alleged plagiarism of NewJeans' files, while making its own girl group ILLIT, that started the conflict. HYBE refused to give her an official answer but instead retaliated with an internal audit, according to Min.

"HYBE would have known that everything within the internal report was true, that they were just claims," Min said in the statement. "But their priority was evading the issue rather than solving the problem because all they cared about was their own well-being and profit.

"Looking back, I question myself for being so naive as to believe that they would at least have the minimum decency as a human being, even if they don't repent. But just as you're not alive just because you're breathing, I didn't want to go along with this twisted organization and settle."

Following the police reports made by HYBE and two other subsidiaries, Min was removed as the CEO of ADOR by the board members on Aug. 27 and was instead offered a three-year extension of her term as a member of the board on Sept. 25. Kim Ju-young, the executive HR officer of HYBE, replaced Min as the CEO.

"Even until recently, HYBE continued with its bullying and then offered me a contract full of unfair clauses," Min said. "[HYBE] forced me to agree to a forensic [investigation] and other incomprehensible conditions such as face-to-face meetings only, citing confidentiality clauses and denying to provide the files on paper."

Min ended her statement by expressing her gratitude toward NewJeans' fan club Bunnies, which has also been filing complaints and police reports against HYBE on behalf of the girl group and Min. She emphasized that she will not stop her battle with HYBE.

"The wrongdoing by HYBE in 2024 will remain as the single most atrocious chapter in the history of K-pop," Min said.

She closed by referring to a statement made by Bang Si-hyuk earlier on in the battle between the two.

"One person's evil intentions should not disrupt the essence of the industry. They are so bad," Min said.

Min had been taking steps toward resigning since early this month.

She notified HYBE that she would exercise her put option, an investor's right to sell their shares to the company upon demand, over her 18 percent share of ADOR.

The shareholder contract between Min and HYBE states that Min is able to sell her shares at three-quarters of ADOR's average total operating profit over the last two years, multiplied by 13. ADOR reported a 4 billion won operating deficit in 2022 ($2.9 million) and 35.5 billion won in operating profit in 2023, meaning that she will get 26 billion won in total if her put option is fully exercised.

The put option will be discussed in court, which has yet to make a decision on who is liable for breaching the contract.

On Nov. 13, NewJeans members demanded that ADOR bring back Min as CEO, stating that they will seek to have their exclusive contracts with the company terminated if their demands are not met by Nov. 27.

HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang said that “calm and principled measures” would be taken after the group's livestream, reaffirming that the company would not go back on its decision to remove Min as CEO. Should the company continue its stance, then NewJeans could only resort to filing for an injunction on their exclusive contracts with ADOR.

HYBE has not received Min's resignation papers and has not made a statement as of Wednesday afternoon.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]