HYBE and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin presented sharply opposing views over a service contract between ADOR and Beasts And Natives Alike (BANA).
On the afternoon of December 18, the Civil Division 31 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Nam In Soo) held a hearing on HYBE’s lawsuit seeking confirmation of the termination of a shareholders’ agreement against Min and one other defendant, as well as a separate lawsuit filed by Min and two others against HYBE demanding payment for a stock sale tied to the exercise of put options. Following the previous hearing on the 27th of last month, Min appeared again for party examination.
A newly raised issue during the hearing centered on the service contract between BANA and ADOR. HYBE’s counsel asked whether Min Hee Jin was aware of a news report dated February 14, 2025, claiming that the five members of NewJeans—who began independent activities under the new name NJZ after receiving notice of exclusive contract termination—had contacted BANA. Min replied, “I know the article because the outlet is known to be pro-HYBE.”
When asked again whether this was the same BANA that had worked on NewJeans’ music and whether she had consulted a shaman about acquiring shares, Min responded, “The question itself is flawed, so my answer is no.”
Asked whether she had intended to use BANA to circumvent non-compete obligations, Min dismissed the claim, saying, “In April 2021, ADOR had not even been established yet. There was no shareholders’ agreement and no service contract with BANA.”
She went on to argue that HYBE had conducted what she described as an unjustified audit and “personal surveillance,” adding that HYBE had searched through her private messages to manufacture allegations. “BANA was in a contractual relationship with ADOR at the time. Without any evidence, HYBE even fed this to the media to frame me. Seeing this today, I finally understand how those reports came out,” she said.
Min stated that from 2020 to 2021, she already had a comprehensive plan for launching a new girl group—what would become NewJeans—claiming that HYBE executives Bang Si Hyuk and So Sung Jin “had no concrete vision.” She said she introduced BANA, which she described as a highly capable music label, to Bang Si Hyuk, sending demos and pitching them to HYBE’s A&R team, only to be repeatedly rejected.
She added that she was unsure at the time whether she would even establish ADOR, explaining that then-HYBE CEO Park Ji Won frequently changed directions. Min accused HYBE of retroactively attaching “shamanism” narratives to justify later decisions, comparing it to blaming Bang Si Hyuk if misfortune befell a girl group he had once spoken negatively about.
When asked whether BANA CEO Kim Ki Hyun was her former boyfriend, Min acknowledged, “He is my ex-boyfriend,” adding that she had deliberately disclosed this to Park Ji Won. She explained that transferring part of her own put-option rights to Kim was done at her own request.
“This is not strange at all,” Min said, stressing that Kim is competent and co-created all of NewJeans’ music with her. “He deserved compensation, but I couldn’t pay him with company funds, so I gave him part of my own share.”
She emphasized that their past personal relationship was irrelevant to business decisions and stated that she had even sought Park Ji Won’s advice on whether such compensation was appropriate.
Responding to HYBE’s claim that she planned to use Bang Si Hyuk’s funds while channeling Kakao’s money through BANA, Min flatly denied it, demanding evidence and stating that BANA had never worked with Bang or Kim Sung Soo.
BANA has provided exclusive A&R services to ADOR since its inception. ADOR also acquired the “ADOR” trademark from Kim for 100 million KRW (approx. 68,861 USD). Min argued that the amount was reasonable, given that it included logo usage rights, scope, and designer utilization, and was comparable to or lower than standard design service fees.
According to statements made in court, the contract stipulated that ADOR would pay BANA approximately 33 million KRW (approx. 22,385 USD) per month in service fees, cover additional labor costs beyond Kim’s compensation, and provide an incentive equivalent to 5% of total revenue. In a revised contract, the incentive structure was modified so that 3% of cumulative past and future album revenue would be paid directly to Kim, raising the annual incentive from roughly 400 million KRW to 1 billion KRW (approx. 271,334 USD to 678,334 USD). Min Hee Jin confirmed these details.
When asked whether the contract had received board approval—a requirement for major agreements—Min initially avoided a direct answer, eventually stating, “I thought Park Ji Won had approved it.” After the judge intervened, she admitted, “Honestly, I don’t remember,” while insisting that prior discussions with Park led her to believe approval was implicit and that Bang Si Hyuk was aware.
HYBE’s counsel also questioned whether it was unprecedented for Kim’s compensation to exceed even Min’s own salary, which was reportedly the highest within HYBE, and to include a 5% revenue incentive. Min responded that BANA’s music was essential to NewJeans’ extraordinary success and compared Kim’s compensation to the stock options and massive rewards given to other top producers within HYBE.
She argued that Kim, unlike composers, does not receive copyright royalties and therefore occupies a “blind spot” in industry compensation structures.
Addressing claims that Kim was compensated upfront before NewJeans’ debut in July 2022, despite the contract being signed in December 2021, Min said the music—including “Hype Boy,” “Attention,” and “Cookie”—had already been completed, and negotiations were tense because Kim wanted fair compensation.
Asked whether she hired Kim purely based on merit, Min replied that she did, stressing that the music was essential to her creative vision and that the compensation was reasonable by industry standards.
She further emphasized that payments to Kim did not exceed those to BANA as a company and reiterated that 1 billion KRW was not excessive, citing the hundreds of billions earned by other producers in K-pop.
Min described BANA and its creators as artists themselves, stating, “Kim Ki Hyun is NewJeans. Producer 250 is NewJeans,” and argued that artists should be compensated based on their contributions and success.
HYBE countered by pointing out that even after NewJeans effectively halted official activities following their contract dispute, ADOR was still obligated to pay monthly service fees and incentives to BANA regardless of new releases. Min replied that BANA would never be in a position where it was not working.
During cross-examination, Min reiterated that NewJeans’ success was largely due to the effective use of BANA and criticized HYBE for preferring internal resources over what she considered more capable external partners.
She also argued that the contract with BANA was, in fact, disadvantageous to BANA, as it agreed to work exclusively with NewJeans, forgoing opportunities with other idol groups.
Min concluded by defending her work ethic and track record, stating that her results at SM Entertainment and the rapid rise of NewJeans spoke for themselves.
The hearing was adjourned briefly due to the length of questioning and Min’s expressed discomfort, with proceedings set to resume later in the evening.
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