The dramas continue in the world of corporate K-pop between HYBE and its Ador label, and Ador’s co-founder and former CEO Min Hee-jin. She has been formally reappointed as a director of Ador, but her legal battle to take back her job as CEO of the label she founded continues, with a court set to rule by the end of the month.
In a new interview critical of HYBE, Min said that she is determined that Ador-signed NewJeans will be able to move forward, despite the ongoing legal wrangling and corporate politics.
Meanwhile Lee Jae-sang, the CEO of HYBE, last week sought to reassure his staff that the company was acting in a responsible way and that the very public feuding would come to an end, adding, “We are handling things in a principled and rational manner”.
That meeting came amid the somewhat gloomy backdrop of the news that the K-pop powerhouse will have to repay millions in debt after spooked investors in the company’s bonds have opted to redeem their investments, something it plans to finance via a new bond issue.
Min’s latest interview on her battle with HYBE was with Japanese news network ANN. According to The Korea Times, she told the broadcaster, “when I wanted to create a new type of label that could bring a new wave to K-pop” she had “many options” on the table for Ador, but “HYBE asked me to do it together” with them. Had she known that they were going to interfere in the running of her label “I wouldn’t have joined HYBE”.
It’s important for production, investment and management at Ador to work together for her vision to succeed, she went on, which is why it’s important she is CEO of the label as well as working as a producer and creative director with NewJeans. When HYBE pushed her out of the CEO job in August, it said she would continue in her creative role, but Min said that hadn’t been agreed prior to the announcement.
HYBE announced last month that Min would be reappointed as a director of Ador, just as soon as the label’s board could organise an extraordinary meeting to make that official. That meeting happened last week and Min will now be a member of the Ador board for at least the next three years.
HYBE presumably hoped that reappointing Min as a director of Ador and renewing her contract as producer of NewJeans would end their very public squabble. But that hasn't happened, with NewJeans and the group’s fans - along with Min herself - continuing to call for her reinstatement as CEO.
Min filed an injunction with the court seeking to force HYBE to do just that. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, a local court held a session regarding that injunction on 11 Oct. The judge will now “accept additional data” in relation to the dispute until 25 Oct before making a ruling on Min’s claim by the end of the month.
In the ANN interview, Min revealed that she was working on a plan for NewJeans to release a new album and embark on a world tour in 2025, and she continues to work on those plans, but is obviously in “a state of uncertainty” - something that is likely to increase pressure from fans keen to see her reinstated.
“At the moment, I have not signed a producer contract with HYBE or Ador, so I am not a producer or CEO”, she added. “I am only acting with the authority of a company director, so in reality, I’m in a kind of ‘floating’ situation”.
It remains to be seen if, how and when the ongoing dispute between HYBE and Min can be resolved. HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang last week acknowledged that the public feuding is not ideal, but reassured his employees, “if you trust and wait, you’ll see the knot gradually untangle”.
Though, as of the start of last week, HYBE staffers were possibly more concerned about those reports that the company will need to repay 399.8 billion won to investors next month after they chose to redeem convertible bonds that were issued in 2021.
According to Pulse, the vast majority of investors that bought those bonds have opted to redeem them early because of “a significant drop in HYBE’s stock price since the bonds were issued”.
Commenting on that, Lee insisted, “The company’s financial health is very strong - we have 1.2 trillion won in available cash”. The next day the company also announced it would issue another 400 billion won in convertible bonds to fund the redemption of the earlier bonds.