Navigating the HYBE-ADOR Legal Battle: From the Audit to the Court Hearing
On April 22, HYBE Corporation Ltd. initiated an internal audit of ADOR following allegations that its CEO Min Heejin planned to separate the subsidiary from the company. Now, more than a week later, this audit has evolved into a larger case of company friction, label independence, and an alleged breach of trust. While this story continues to unravel, here is a summary of these events so far.
Min Heejin’s Career in the K-Pop Industry
Min Heejin’s involvement within the industry started in 2002 at SM Entertainment. Min went through many roles before leaving the company in 2018. She began as a graphic designer, and later became a creative director. SM Entertainment added Min to their board of directors in 2017, though that position was short-lived.
Min explained in an early 2022 interview with BE(ATTITUDE) Magazine that she left SM Entertainment to “escape the psychological pressure” she felt at the time. She said she did not desire a board position, rather that her work “was far more important than any executive title.” When Min left the company, she did not have plans for her next career. She eventually joined HYBE in 2019 as their chief branding officer.
Background to HYBE and its Subsidiaries
Bang Sihyuk established HYBE Corporation Ltd., hereafter referred to as HYBE, as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005. In 2013, Big Hit Entertainment debuted BTS, who would later place the company on the map for their global success in the coming years. The company started adding subsidiaries in late 2010s:
In 2018, Big Hit Entertainment and CJ ENM formed BELIFT LAB, which would later debut its first group ENHYPEN in 2020. Both companies originally shared ownership, but HYBE gained complete ownership of the label in 2023. BELIFT LAB would debut its first girl group ILLIT in March 2024.
Big Hit Entertainment acquired its first subsidiary, Source Music, in July 2019. Source Music would debut LE SSERAFIM in May 2022.
Big Hit Entertainment’s next acquisition came Pledis Entertainment in May 2020, and KOZ Entertainment in June 2020.
In 2021, Big Hit Entertainment rebranded into HYBE and moved its previous name to Big Hit Music, a label that manages BTS and Tomorrow x Together (TXT).
That November, HYBE launched ADOR, a label specifically focused to debut a new girl group under Min Heeijn’s guidance. HYBE previously hired Min in 2019 as their chief brand officer. ADOR’s girl group debuted as NewJeans in July 2022.
A breakdown of the current idol groups under HYBE and its subsidiaries:
Big Hit Music: BTS and TXT
BELIFT LAB: ENHYPHEN and ILLIT
Source Music: LE SSERAFIM
KOZ Entertainment: BOYNEXTDOOR
ADOR: NewJeans
The Audit Results
Following HYBE’s request for Min to comply with the audit, she revealed her friction with the company stemmed from the March debut of ILLIT. She stated that the new girl group was “copying NewJeans” in all aspects. In addition to the audit, HYBE asked Min to:
Step down from her position.
Attend an ADOR board meeting, to which Min declined.
On April 25, HYBE’s audit found evidence suggesting Min was trying to gain independence for ADOR. Ownership of the subsidiary is currently split with HYBE holding 80 percent of shares and Min holding 18 percent of shares.
The major findings of the audit included:
A computer file detailing a “control takeover” of ADOR.
Interviews, transcribed conversations, and a document outlining Min’s plan to pressure HYBE into selling its ADOR stakes.
Min’s meetings with a shaman regarding future plans. The shaman coached her for three years on topics such as setting up ADOR, discussing benefits of BTS’s enlistment period, and the selling of HYBE stocks.
HYBE said that morning they would file a breach of trust report to the police based on the audit’s results. That same day, HYBE also filed for a court permit asking to hold the shareholder meeting that Min rejected. This resulted in the future court hearing that took place on April 30.
The Press Conference and the Radio Interview
Later that afternoon of April 25, Min held a press conference to speak on the matter. In the two-hour press conference, Min detailed her perspective of the events and her response to HYBE’s actions. According to Min, Bang gave her “full support” to create HYBE’s newest girl group pre-pandemic. In 2021, Min received news that HYBE would debut a girl group with former IZ*ONE members Sakura and Chaewon under Source Music first, instead of her group. She emphasized these key points:
She felt “betrayed” by Bang and current HYBE CEO Park Jiwon over their alleged instructions to “not to promote NewJeans,” after previously giving her reign to create a new girl group.
Her grievances with the ILLIT comparisons stems with their team, not the group members. By allegedly creating similarities between ILLIT and NewJeans, Min said HYBE is also “ruining ILLIT” in the process.
Her relationship with Bang and Park “worsened” due to circumstances surrounding LE SSERAFIM.
Min sought out guidance by a shaman to sate her curiosity regarding the impact BTS’s enlistment would have on HYBE’s future plans. She said HYBE’s actions were “censoring [her] messages.”
Min felt that higher HYBE management continues to undermine her efforts, those of the NewJeans members, and the group’s success.
According to Min, the NewJeans members and their families support her during this ordeal.
Timeline of Events, According to Min Heejin
Min Heejin joins HYBE as their chief brand officer, who Bang Sihyuk appoints to create the company’s next girl group; Bang proposes purchasing Source Music as their label dedicated to girl groups; HYBE purchases Source Music.
Min assembles the lineup of NewJeans as “BTS’s girl group”; COVID-19 strikes globally.
Park Jiwon, appointed CEO of HYBE in May 2020, and Source Music CEO So Sunjin reveal to Min their plans to debut a girl group before hers.
Min requests the creation of ADOR, and HYBE agrees under conditions they get 100 percent stake in the company.
After three months of negotiations, HYBE and Min come to a deal regarding the split shares of the company; Min transfers the NewJeans lineup under that label.
Park tells Min not to “promote NewJeans before LE SSERAFIM’s debut,” wanting the public to perceive the latter as her group.
LE SSERAFIM debuts on May 2, 2022; NewJeans debuts on July 22, 2022; by the end of 2022, HYBE’s stakes in ADOR lower to 80 percent and Min receives 18 percent.
On the morning of April 26, Min appeared on Kim Hyunjung’s News Show. She stated that the previous day’s press conference was “the first and possibly the last opportunity” to show her perspective. As of this article’s publication, Min has yet to address anything else publicly.
NewJeans released their pre-release single “Bubble Gum” the following day. The group will continue teasing their upcoming single album How Sweet, slated for May 24. An unnamed but knowledgeable source told the Korea JoongAng Daily on April 23 that NewJeans’s schedule will remain as planned “whether or not ADOR CEO Min Heejin cooperates with HYBE.”
The Rumors about HYBE’s Association with Suspected Cult, Suspected Sajaegi
After Min’s public appearances, rumors began spreading amongst Korean netizens who suspect HYBE’s involvement with an alleged cult. This attention focused not on Min, but rather Dahn World, a religious meditation organization. These suspicions claimed that HYBE spread Dahn World’s messages through their artists’ images and music. Within Dahn World’s 39-year history, the organization has garnered a controversial reputation within Korea as well as its expansion into the United States.
Furthermore, the netizen claims put forth the possiblity of sajaegi, the bulk purchasing of an artist’s own albums for chart manipulation, after a 2017 court ruling resurfaced. The ruling found evidence of “inappropriate marketing,” which Big Hit Music has called a past “one-sided argument” on April 29. Further clarification arrived in the coming days.
On May 1, Dahn World released a statement outlining no involvement with HYBE. The organization added that they will pursue legal action “against the damaging controversy.” Big Hit Music also denied any Dahn World affiliation and sajaegi allegations, among others, on May 2. “Recent allegations of hoarding, concept plagiarism, and affiliations with Dahnworld or any religious cults are completely false,” the company said in a Weverse post.
The Court Hearing and the Weeks Ahead
On April 30, HYBE took Min to court over their request to hold ADOR’s shareholders meeting. Min called such a request “illegal.” Lee Won from Sejong Law Firm, who represented ADOR at the closed hearing, said ADOR will hold its shareholders meeting on May 10. HYBE will hold its general shareholder meeting “by the end of May.” Lee said they will disclose more information to “the court by May 13th.”
No further details have been disclosed as of yet. In just over a week, the initial audit launched by HYBE has reached the courts and many await the results. This does not, however, mean that new details will stop appearing. On May 2, Min responded to a report revealing that she asked HYBE in January for permission to terminate NewJeans’s contract. This rejected request, would have allowed Min to bypass the approval of ADOR’s other board of directors, only currently known as “Kim” and “Shin.” Min said though she did submit the request, it remained unrelated to the current clash with HYBE.
Regardless of the outcome of both shareholder meetings, this dispute has no doubt solidified itself as a historic event with an uncertain ending.