Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin has been accused of granting excessive preferential treatment to her former romantic partner, who was involved in the music production for NewJeans.
The allegations were raised during a court hearing held on December 18 at the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 31, where HYBE and Min are engaged in lawsuits over the termination of their shareholder agreement and the exercise of a put option. HYBE claimed that Min signed contracts that were unilaterally favorable to Kim, the CEO of music production company BANA, due to their romantic relationship.
During the hearing, HYBE presented a service contract related to NewJeans’ operations. According to the contract, ADOR paid BANA a monthly service fee of 33 million KRW (approximately 22,355 USD), along with additional personnel costs for Kim and others. The agreement also stipulated an incentive of 5 percent of total album-related revenue in the year of release.
Based on these terms, BANA reportedly received service fees in 2022 amounting to approximately twice the total settlement paid to all NewJeans members that year. HYBE argued that despite ADOR recording operating losses in 2022, BANA was paid a larger sum than the group itself under the service agreement.
HYBE’s legal representatives further claimed that internal emails showed the contract to be unprecedentedly generous. According to the emails, Kim’s annual compensation exceeded Min’s own salary, ranked among the highest levels in the entertainment industry, and included a 5 percent album revenue incentive, described as one of the highest within HYBE. HYBE also argued that the contract appeared to have been signed without board approval.
It was additionally revealed that Min had written a pledge stating that she would share part of the proceeds she expected to receive from exercising her put option with Kim. The contract with BANA was later revised in a way that further favored Kim. While the original agreement granted BANA 5 percent of annual album-related revenue, the revised contract allocated 3 percent of cumulative album revenue, including past releases, directly to Kim as an individual.
As a result of the revision, Kim’s annual incentive reportedly increased from approximately 400 million KRW (approximately 270,985 USD) to approximately 1 billion KRW (approximately 677,460 USD). HYBE argued that under the revised terms, ADOR would be required to pay substantial incentives even if BANA carried out no actual work.
In response, Min acknowledged both her past romantic relationship with Kim and the contract terms but denied that the agreement constituted preferential treatment. She stated that the contract was based on Kim’s capabilities, saying, “He was highly competent, and I believed he could change the industry.” She added that the compensation was not excessive compared to industry standards and emphasized her belief that high-performing creators deserve appropriate motivation and rewards.
When questioned about whether the contract had received board approval, Min initially claimed that it had. However, after further questioning from HYBE, she revised her statement, saying she believed the former HYBE CEO had verbally approved it. When pressed again on whether there had been a formal board resolution, Min replied that she did not remember.
Min also argued that her decision to share put option proceeds with Kim had nothing to do with their personal relationship, reiterating that she wanted to compensate a talented producer adequately.
It was further disclosed that an email sent externally, which included screenshots of Min’s private messages with a shaman, had been addressed to Kim. Min stated that she was unaware of the email and claimed she did not send it herself.
The legal dispute between HYBE and Min continues, with the court resuming arguments on the shareholder agreement termination lawsuit and Min’s claim for payment related to her put option. The court conducted its third round of questioning of Min during the December 18 hearing.
At a previous hearing on November 27, Min denied allegations related to attempts to poach NewJeans and to seize management control of ADOR. She also became emotional while describing her removal as CEO, saying she did not understand what wrongdoing justified her dismissal and that she endured the situation for the sake of NewJeans.
Following this hearing, the court is scheduled to hold one additional round of arguments on January 15 next year.
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