On February 12, Civil Division No. 31 of the Seoul Central Court (Korea) rejected HYBE Group's lawsuit requesting confirmation of the termination of the shareholder agreement with Min Hee Jin.
The court argued that HYBE did not fully prove the basis for terminating the contract, including the accusation that Min Hee Jin tried to acquire the management rights of ADOR (NewJeans management company).
Accordingly, HYBE is forced to pay a total of about 25.6 billion won for share repurchase, of which about 22.5 billion won will belong to Min Hee Jin.
The focus of the lawsuit revolves around Min Hee Jin exercising the right to choose to sell shares. After resigning as internal director of ADOR, she informed HYBE about the resale of shares in accordance with the shareholder agreement.
HYBE refused to pay on the grounds that she had breached the contract. However, the court stated that although Min Hee Jin may have considered the possibility of separating ADOR to operate independently, it is difficult to conclude that those actions were implemented at a practical level or undermined the basics of the contract. The allegations that she tried to "take NewJeans away" are also not fully proven.
This ruling means that Min Hee Jin won a huge amount of money - marking a great victory both legally and financially.
Conversely, NewJeans - the group created by Min Hee Jin - fell into the opposite situation. In October 2025, the Seoul Central Court ruled NewJeans lose the lawsuit confirming the effectiveness of the group's exclusive contract with ADOR.
The court argued that the CEO dismissal did not mean that management obligations were broken, thereby refuting the arguments of NewJeans members. As a result, the group was forced to return to operating under the company's management system.
However, tensions have not stopped. ADOR then terminated its exclusive contract with member Danielle and filed a lawsuit demanding compensation for damages of up to 43 billion won.
Controversy increased even more when at a recent press conference related to allegations of "interfering and luring artists", Min Hee Jin directly mentioned the family members when mentioning responsibility.
Min Hee Jin was once known as the "mother of NewJeans", so this move caused many mixed reactions from fans. Instead of the image of always protecting NewJeans before, Min Hee Jin is now willing to blame the NewJeans member's family.
The common conflict between Min Hee Jin, NewJeans and HYBE has now turned into two completely different directions.
Min Hee Jin won more than 20 billion won thanks to a contract right recognized by the court. Meanwhile, NewJeans faced the consequences of the ruling confirming the validity of the exclusive contract, and at the same time had to reconsider their future direction.
Although they once stood in the eye of the same dispute, their outcome was clearly opposite.
Observers believe that shareholder agreements and artist exclusive contracts operate under completely different legal frameworks. One side revolves around the interpretation of share terms and contract termination standards; the other side is related to the scope of management obligations.
This paradox shows that two battles in the same conflict can lead to completely opposite outcomes.
