HYBE’s Power Struggle: CEO Min Hee Jin Fights for Position

CEO Min Hee Jin of ADOR has recently filed an injunction to prevent the exercise of voting rights against HYBE. This move appears to be an attempt to halt HYBE’s ongoing efforts to dismiss her.

On May 7th, ADOR’s legal representative, Sejong Law Firm, stated, “HYBE has requested a temporary shareholders’ meeting to discuss the dismissal of CEO and internal director Min Hee Jin, which is a violation of the shareholders’ agreement signed with Min.”

They also revealed, “Min has filed an injunction to prevent HYBE from exercising voting rights in favor of her dismissal, citing the right to claim performance of the shareholders’ agreement as a right to preserve.”

It was further explained that “Min has filed for the injunction to protect the corporate value of ADOR and its artists, as she believes HYBE’s embezzlement allegations are absurd.”

Min’s decision comes in light of HYBE’s recent accusation of embezzlement against her and the ADOR management team on April 25th.

If HYBE’s planned board of directors and temporary shareholders’ meeting proceed as scheduled this month, the entire ADOR management team could be replaced by the end of the month, hence the filing of the injunction to halt this process.

According to industry insiders, ADOR is set to hold a board meeting in downtown Seoul on May 10th. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the current situation through a temporary shareholders’ meeting.

Initially, HYBE planned to replace all executives by convening a temporary shareholders’ meeting at the end of the month based on the board meeting results. However, CEO Min’s decision to file for an injunction against voting rights has put a stop to these plans.

Furthermore, Min is insisting on focusing on the upcoming activities of NewJeans, such as their return with a new double single on the 24th, their debut single release in Japan next month, and a fan meeting at Tokyo Dome. This stance is likely to garner public support for her.

If the court rejects Min’s claims and sides with HYBE, the company could use its overwhelming shareholding to pass the motion to dismiss Min.

However, if the court supports Min, the call for a temporary shareholders’ meeting by HYBE could effectively become pointless.

Furthermore, as NewJeans’ activities are expected to continue until May or June, an uncomfortable coexistence between the two parties is anticipated. Currently, as HYBE has filed a complaint against CEO Min Hee Jin for embezzlement, the outcome of this investigation is also highly anticipated.

Regarding this, Police Chief Jo Ji Ho in Seoul stated at a regular press conference held at the Seoul Police Station in Jongno-gu, Seoul, “There is no significant progress in the investigation yet,” but promised to “conduct the investigation more meticulously and faster than other cases due to public interest, and explain to the public.” When asked whether the amount of embezzlement was stated in the complaint filed by HYBE, he stated, “We are still in the stage of reviewing the records, so I haven’t seen it directly and don’t know,” and added, “Even if the amount is not confirmed, it doesn’t mean that the complaint is invalid. It’s a matter that the investigative agency should reveal.”

On April 22nd, HYBE revealed to the press that it had detected signs of Min misappropriating management rights during an internal audit. If HYBE finds additional evidence, it may submit it to the police to expedite Min’s dismissal.

Meanwhile, apart from the prosecution’s investigation into charges of embezzlement and the temporary shareholders’ meeting to dismiss Min, the lengthy feud between HYBE and Min is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

An industry insider predicted, “A lengthy legal battle seems inevitable,” and noted that the core issue might be the call option clause in the shareholder agreement between HYBE and CEO Min.

Min once sparked controversy by exercising this call option, which set the price at the lesser of the nominal value per share or 70% of its fair value.