South Korean entertainment giant HYBE says it plans to appeal a decision by police not to file charges against Min Hee-Jin, the former head of HYBE label ADOR, the agency behind K-pop group NewJeans.
“After more than a year of investigation, the police decided today not to forward either of HYBE’s complaints to prosecutors, having found no evidence of wrongdoing,” Min’s legal team said in a statement on Tuesday (July 15), as quoted in the Korea Times.
HYBE responded with a statement that it plans to file an appeal of that decision with the prosecution.
“There have been new developments made in the case after police investigations, such as the NewJeans members arguing that their contracts are invalid,” HYBE said in a press release, as quoted at Korea JoongAng Daily.
“We have handed in numerous pieces of new evidence to court in related suits. The court has made firm decisions against Min based on such evidence and the Seoul High Court even deemed that Min is ‘intentionally sabotaging the very basis of an exclusive contract.’”
In April 2024, HYBE launched an audit of Min and other ADOR executives on suspicions that Min, who served as ADOR’s CEO and as an internal director, had attempted to seize control of the HYBE subsidiary by bringing in potential outside investors. HYBE filed a complaint with police against Min, alleging breach of trust.
Min held a lengthy press conference in response to the allegations, denying any wrongdoing and suggesting that her 18% share of ADOR would have made it impossible for her to take control of the company. In July 2024, she filed defamation and disruption of business complaints with police against five HYBE executives.
In its statement on Tuesday, HYBE noted that police also declined to bring charges against the five executives.
“The investigation authorities stated that HYBE’s claims ‘are difficult to see as false information,’ that ‘it pertains to a matter of public interest, so the intention to defame is not recognized,’ and that ‘the KakaoTalk conversations were obtained through lawful authority during the audit process’,” HYBE said, as quoted by Chosun Daily.
“We therefore announce that we will fight this decision in an appeals process.”
The reference to KakaoTalk has to do with leaked conversations on the KakaoTalk app in which Min appeared to disparage members of NewJeans, whom she called “immature kids.”
Nonetheless, it appeared that NewJeans members largely sided with Min in her dispute with HYBE. Last November, following Min’s removal as CEO and resignation as an internal director at the agency, NewJeans unilaterally declared their contract with ADOR null and void, even changing their name to NJZ.
That led to a legal dispute between the group and the agency, which ADOR won earlier this year when a court blocked the group from pursuing independent commercial activities.
“We… we will fight this decision in an appeals process.”
HYBE
The ongoing dispute with Min isn’t the only legal drama swirling around HYBE, South Korea’s largest K-pop agency famed for developing global hitmakers like BTS and ENHYPHEN.
News reports earlier this month indicated that investigators with the country’s Securities and Futures Commission are preparing to recommend charges against HYBE’s founder and Chairman, Bang Si-hyuk.
Bang is alleged to have cost early investors in HYBE’s IPO hundreds of billions of won through an arrangement with private equity funds that were exempt from lock-up restrictions at the time of the IPO, allowing them to dump large numbers of shares shortly after public trading began.
In the days following the IPO, HYBE shares fell below their opening price, costing investors large sums of money while Bang is alleged to have pocketed 400 billion won (approx. USD $300 million) from the transactions.
Earlier this month, HYBE pledged to cooperate fully with investigators as the case unfolds.Music Business Worldwide
