At a public press conference about the suspicion of "pulling and interfering in NewJeans" recently, lawyer Kim Seon Woong of Giam Law Company appeared as the legal representative for former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin.
According to lawyer Kim, the press conference was held to clarify "the truth and nature" behind the allegations that "Min Hee Jin interfered in NewJeans" that appeared at the end of 2024 and early 2025, in the context of ADOR filing a lawsuit against Min Hee Jin, demanding compensation for damages, and suing a NewJeans member related to the termination of the contract and compensation.
Intervention" is understood as the act of a third party secretly approaching or seducing an artist who is bound by a breached exclusive contract or terminating the contract, often by promising future agreements or interests.
Lawyer Kim Seon Woong stated: "The articles in December 2024 and January 2025 have raised the so-called suspicion of seduction or "interference in NewJeans" related to Min Hee Jin.
However, the nature of these articles is a national deception, completely unrelated to Min Hee Jin, but carried out by the family of a NewJeans member and a specific businessman, aiming to inflate stock prices or manipulate the stock market of a certain enterprise”.
Min Hee Jin's side continued to say: "At the time the suspicion was raised, Min Hee Jin tried to reach an agreement with HYBE so that NewJeans could return and resume operations, even willing to give up all their rights under the shareholder contract.
In the process, the family of a member - who is said to have a close relationship with the senior leadership of HYBE - took advantage of Min Hee Jin's circumstances to plan to "intervene in NewJeans" and lure forces to disrupt the stock market".
Previously, in July 2024, HYBE announced that Min Hee Jin had sought to "privatize" NewJeans and ADOR, causing damage to the company and other subsidiaries under HYBE.
A month later, Min Hee Jin was dismissed from the position of CEO of ADOR. In November of the same year, she officially left the position of internal director of ADOR and informed HYBE about exercising the right to choose to sell shares worth about 26 billion won. However, HYBE said that the shareholder contract had been terminated since July, so exercising the right to choose to sell was invalid.
Before this argument, Min Hee Jin's side refuted that there was no act of violating the shareholder contract, so HYBE's contract termination notice was invalid. Therefore, the right to choose to sell that she exercised is valid and the right to request payment needs to be recognized.
During this process, NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) lost the lawsuit in the first instance trial in October last year in the case of confirming the validity of the exclusive contract with ADOR, and all members expressed their intention to return to ADOR without appeal.
But in December of the same year, ADOR announced the termination of the exclusive contract with Danielle, then sued Danielle, a relative in her family, and Min Hee Jin, demanding compensation for damages of about 43.1 billion won.
Currently, only 3 members, Hyein, Haerin and Hanni, have been accepted by ADOR to return to the company; the contract with Minji is still being discussed.
Meanwhile, Min Hee Jin established a new management company called OKAY in October last year.
