Photo Credit: NewJeans by theMEGASTUDY / CC by 4.0
Former ADOR chief Min Hee-jin offers to forgo an $18 million payout if HYBE drops its lawsuits against K-pop group NewJeans.
Min Hee-jin, the former boss of NewJeans’ label and HYBE subsidiary ADOR, said she would forgo a court-ordered payout of 25.6 billion won ($17.9 million) from HYBE in exchange for the company dropping all ongoing lawsuits related to NewJeans members. She announced the offer at a press conference in Seoul.
“I have decided to exchange 25.6 billion won for another value,” Min told the press. “The reason is the NewJeans members.”
Min said she “can no longer bear to watch” NewJeans be “torn apart” when all five members “should instead be standing happily on stage.”
The Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 31 ruled on February 12 in Min’s favor in her shareholder dispute with HYBE. The court ordered HYBE to pay 25.6 billion won for her put option—a contractual right enabling her to sell her 20% stake in ADOR back to parent company HYBE.
HYBE argued that Min violated the shareholder agreement by allegedly attempting to pursue ADOR’s independence and take NewJeans with her. But the court determined that this alone did not constitute a breach of the shareholders’ agreement and did not invalidate her put option.
HYBE filed an appeal against the ruling, and on February 25, the court granted HYBE’s request to stay execution of the put option pending the appellate ruling. Meanwhile, the court dismissed HYBE’s separate lawsuit, which sought confirmation of the termination of the shareholders’ agreement.
Things became more complicated after Min was dismissed from her position at ADOR in late 2024, which stemmed from allegations that she was trying to take over control of ADOR from HYBE. Min has denied the allegations. But NewJeans members, who considered Min to be a mentor, rallied behind her and attempted to leave ADOR in violation of their contracts.
In December, ADOR filed a lawsuit against former NewJeans member Danielle, one of Danielle’s family members, and Min Hee-jin, seeking 43.1 billion won ($29.8 million) in damages. ADOR terminated Danielle’s contract in December.
At the same time, NewJeans members Hanni, Haerin, and Hyein have ultimately returned to ADOR, while member Minji is still reportedly in discussions with ADOR regarding her return.
