K-pop producer Min Hee-jin wins ruling to keep control of NewJeans
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Ms Min Hee-jin, famed super producer and chief of Ador, remains in control of NewJeans and will continue to set the direction for the girl group.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL – A Seoul court has ruled in favour of producer Min Hee-jin against K-pop giant Hybe, granting an injunction so the company cannot dismiss Ms Min as head of its music label Ador and must leave her in control of acts such as the hit South Korean girl group NewJeans.
The Seoul Central District Court said Hybe’s evidence and rationale were not sufficient to back its case for Ms Min’s dismissal, according to a Yonhap News report.
With that decision, Hybe cannot exercise its voting rights to remove Ms Min from the record label at the company’s shareholder meeting.
The power struggle at K-pop’s largest company comes as Hybe seeks to diversify through acquisitions and reduce its dependence on the superstar group BTS.
“We urge Hybe to respect the court’s decision,” Ms Min’s attorney said in a statement after the ruling. “If Hybe takes any action to remove Ms Min from her position as CEO, it will be in direct violation of the shareholders’ agreement.”
Her attorney also urged Hybe not to dismiss two other Ador directors from their posts at the May 31 meeting.
In its own statement, Hybe said it would not exercise its voting rights to try to remove Ms Min at the shareholders gathering. “We plan to follow up within the framework of the law,” the company said.
Ms Min was scouted by Hybe founder Bang Si-hyuk in 2019 after she resigned from rival K-pop company SM Entertainment, where she spent more than 15 years as a producer behind popular idol bands such as Exo and Red Velvet.
But the relationship between the two producers quickly soured over the debuts of girl groups produced by each of them.
In early April, Ms Min sent a lengthy letter to Mr Bang and the Hybe management, alleging that they discriminated against NewJeans.
The internal strife between Ms Min and Hybe’s management spilled into public view in April after Hybe started an internal audit against her. The company’s executives probed whether she had attempted to seize control of the label from the parent company by contacting investors for a potential management buyout or initial public offering.
Ms Min, who owns 18 per cent of Ador shares, has denied the allegations.
She then held a dramatic press event
Hybe refuted Ms Min’s claims and filed a complaint with the police to investigate her for alleged breach of duty.
Ms Min filed the injunction request to block Hybe from exercising its voting rights in Ador during the shareholder meeting. Each side staged campaigns to win public support.
Mr Bang and the Korean producers behind Hybe labels filed petitions to the court, while NewJeans’ members and their fans signed onto Ms Min’s petition, according to Yonhap.
The K-drama is not fully resolved.
Hybe plans to continue to press its case that Ms Min sought to take control of Ador. In the meantime, Ms Min will be able to set the direction for NewJeans, which helped Ador generate about 100 billion won (S$97.7 million) of revenue in 2023. BLOOMBERG
