Legal Battle Erupts Between HYBE and Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin Over Put Option

A legal dispute has ignited between HYBE and Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of ADOR, regarding the exercise of a put option. On June 12, the Seoul Central District Court held its first hearing for a lawsuit filed by Min and two others against HYBE, concerning claims for stock sale payments and the confirmation of the termination of their shareholder agreement.

Min Hee-jin notified HYBE of her intention to exercise the put option when she resigned from her position as an internal director at ADOR in November last year. According to the shareholder agreement between Min and HYBE, if she exercises the put option, she is entitled to receive an amount calculated by multiplying the average operating profit of ADOR for the previous two years (2022-2023) by 13 and dividing it by the total number of issued shares.

In 2022, the year NewJeans debuted, ADOR reported an operating loss of 4 billion KRW, but in 2023, it rebounded with an operating profit of 33.5 billion KRW. Min holds 573,160 shares (18%) of ADOR, and since she can exercise the put option on 75% of her shares, the estimated amount she could receive is around 26 billion KRW.

HYBE announced in its semi-annual report last August that the shareholder agreement with Min had been terminated. Therefore, they argue that her exercise of the put option is invalid as the contract was already dissolved at that time.

HYBE claims, "The purpose of the shareholder agreement was to ensure the growth and development of ADOR. Any actions that could harm ADOR or HYBE are prohibited. However, Min, despite receiving an annual salary of 2.7 billion KRW in 2024, attempted to poach NewJeans. Planning to take NewJeans away constitutes grounds for contract termination."

They further assert that Min engaged in acts of betrayal by instructing employees to send complaint emails to HYBE using specific tones and names, and they are preparing to present evidence, including her KakaoTalk messages, in court.

Conversely, Min's side contends that she notified HYBE of the contract termination due to their breach, but the contract had not yet been officially terminated. They argue, "After exercising the put option, she resigned, and NewJeans was notified of the contract termination afterward. Therefore, tampering cannot be established," and they claim that the evidence presented by HYBE was illegally obtained, describing it as "fictional content."

The next court hearing is scheduled for September 11 at 3 PM.