Yongsan Police Station (Seoul) has officially rejected the criminal lawsuit of former ADOR CEO - Min Hee Jin against two former HYBE leaders, Mr. Park Ji Won (former CEO) and Mr. Park Tae Hee (CMD). The decision was made on October 14, with the conclusion that HYBE's access to Min Hee Jin's company email was legal within the framework of an internal audit.
Previously, Min Hee Jin accused the two HYBE leaders of violating the Information and Communications networks Act by arbitrarily accessing her laptop and work email without her consent, and said that they had stolen and leaked personal KakaoTalk messages outside. However, HYBE insists that Min has never handed over the company's computer, and that email access was conducted validly during internal inspection.
After investigation, the police concluded that there was no evidence that Min returned the laptop in August 2022 as she stated, and determined that HYBE had a legal basis to check the data related to the work. In addition, the investigation agency also affirmed that the company did not confiscate or illegally search the equipment of other ADOR personnel.
With this verdict, Min Hee Jin is said to be at a disadvantage in the ongoing civil lawsuits between her and HYBE, because the police's decision strengthens the legality of HYBE's auditing and collecting of evidence. The data collected by the company includes KakaoTalk chats between Min and the former ADOR deputy director, which are believed to be related to the plan to separate ADOR and the independent NewJeans group from HYBE.
Min Hee Jin's lawyer, Shin & Kim LLC, confirmed that the lawsuit was dismissed and said that they would appeal the police's decision in the near future.
