Former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin was cleared of charges of breach of trust by the police. In April last year, HYBE filed a complaint against former CEO Min for attempting to seize control of Ador, leading to her dismissal. However, after a 1 year and 3-month police investigation, it was concluded that there was no illegality on former CEO Min’s part.
The Yongsan Police Station in Seoul recently decided not to press charges on both of HYBE’s complaints against former CEO Min, declaring ‘no charges’. Regarding this, former CEO Min stated, “The police investigation concluded there was no illegality.” On the other hand, HYBE mentioned, “New developments such as the termination declaration of NewJeans’ contract and other additional evidence have been presented in court post-investigation,” and planned to file an objection with the prosecution immediately.
This ‘no charges’ decision has emerged as an important variable in the ongoing exclusive contract dispute between NewJeans and Ador. In November last year, NewJeans declared a termination of their exclusive contract, stating that trust had been broken due to the wrongful dismissal of former CEO Min. At that time, the basis HYBE and Ador cited for her dismissal was precisely the breach of trust charges, so this recent ‘no charges’ decision could serve as a factor to grant validity to NewJeans’ claims.
However, the court’s perspective is complex. Ador filed a lawsuit confirming the validity of their exclusive contract against NewJeans members and an injunction banning them from signing advertisement contracts, and the court granted both. The court determined that Ador attempted to keep former CEO Min’s producer role intact after her dismissal, which she declined. Also, the court viewed her dismissal as unrelated to the core contents of the exclusive contract.
The court pointed out that former CEO Min sought methods to break away from HYBE’s control with NewJeans, evaluating this as an attempt that undermines the integrated structure of HYBE-Ador-NewJeans. However, given that the crime of breach of trust cannot be established in the form of an attempt, it seems the police determined that no charges be filed as no action was taken.
Meanwhile, the potential for HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk to be accused of violating the Capital Market Act could also influence the exclusive contract dispute. In the legal community, there’s the view that such serious financial charges involving an entertainment company’s head could constitute grounds for an artist’s contract termination.
The legal battle between former CEO Min and HYBE is also unfolding with a stock purchase price lawsuit. The amount of the put option exercised by former CEO Min is estimated at around 26 billion KRW, with the next court date scheduled for September 11th. The complex legal tensions among former CEO Min, NewJeans, HYBE, and Ador are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.