On April 25th, Min Hee-jin held an unexpected press conference, which led to mixed reactions from employees of HYBE, her previous agency SM Entertainment, and other entertainment companies. Company insiders have voiced their opinions on Blind, a popular community for office workers. Different perspectives have been shared, raising questions about how the incident is viewed not only by HYBE and SM employees but also by those from YG, JYP, and other companies in the industry.
Most HYBE employees disagreed with Min Hee-jin’s claim of discrimination against her ADOR group, NewJeans. They clarified that NewJeans never faced any mistreatment. Some HYBE employees commented that Min Hee-jin created obstacles between the company and NewJeans, hindering promotion and communication. The sentiment among HYBE workers was one of disappointment, highlighting a perceived lack of gratitude for the team’s efforts and a certain level of narcissism in Min Hee-jin’s behavior.
Recently, ADOR released a statement to counter HYBE’s detailed statement at ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin’s press conference. The statement, which was posted on May 2, began by expressing ADOR’s regret for having to release another statement apart from the news about NewJeans. ADOR stated that they have continuously requested HYBE to refrain from spreading unnecessary news that could harm NewJeans’ value through media play. Although they have not responded to whatever HYBE had said to avoid causing harm to their artists’ activities, ADOR wanted to clarify some things about the ongoing controversy with nine points.
Point number one is about the takeover of management rights. HYBE’s claim of “management rights takeover” is baseless. The second point is about financial compensation. The 2 billion won that Min Hee-jin mentioned was not her salary and was a reward for gaining 33.5 billion won in operating profit 2 years after ADOR was established. Min Hee-jin said that HYBE’s criteria for incentives was unclear and there was a total lack of explanation for it.
The third point addressed the internal whistleblowing and audit process. HYBE CEO Park Ji-won responded to ADOR’s internal whistleblowing email on April 22 at 10 A.M., which also happened simultaneously with HYBE starting an audit, seizing the ADOR Vice President’s laptop, and sending a letter that demanded Min Hee-jin’s resignation. The claims of HYBE providing new laptops as soon as the work laptops were taken were also false. Point number four reads HYBE’s promise to debut [NewJeans] as the first girl group. Hybe has publicly declared NewJeans as Min Hee-jin’s girl group and HYBE’s first girl group. Witnesses to this declaration were the NewJean’s members’ parents, executives, and employees of ADOR.
Point number five regards the request to not promote NewJeans’ debut. What HYBE said was not only “factually incorrect, but also logically inconsistent.” HYBE gave the excuse that there wasn’t enough time for the promotion of the two groups and that there were promotional periods set. ADOR says that there were no such agreements. Point six regards the claim that it was not a slave contract. Mine Hee-jin does not deny the need for the non-competition clause in the contract but says that “business and duration subject to the prohibition of competition must be reasonable, which is not the case with the current shareholders’ agreement.”
Point eight regards the fact that the Shaman is simply a friend. The success of NewJeans and ADOR’s achievements in such a short amount of time was due to rational business decisions, not because of a Shaman. Finally, point nine regards the fact that HYBE does not cherish NewJeans. Hybe announces the audit to the media, and at the same time “without any concrete evidence,” they claim that there was an “impossible takeover of management rights.” HYBE did not make any attempts to listen to ADOR’s stance, sparking controversy even before NewJeans’ comeback.
Despite the lack of support for Min Hee-jin’s accusations, the opinions revealed indicate deeper issues surrounding management practices and communication in the industry. Transparency and mutual respect between employees and leadership are crucial for a productive working environment. ADOR hoped their statement cleared up any other speculations.
