Min Hee-jin Resigns from Ador, Leaving HYBE Behind

Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of Ador, has officially announced her resignation from the company's board of directors and her departure from Ador. On November 20, 2024, she released a statement through her legal representative, stating, "I am resigning from my position as an internal director at Ador today. Additionally, I will be terminating the shareholder agreement with HYBE and seeking legal accountability for violations of this agreement."

In her statement, Min expressed her frustrations regarding the ongoing disputes with HYBE, which began with an illegal audit in April. She stated, "Despite the hellish seven-month conflict with HYBE, I have made every effort to uphold the shareholder agreement and restore Ador to its previous state before April. However, HYBE has yet to acknowledge its mistakes and shows no signs of change, leading me to conclude that further efforts would be a waste of time."

Min also criticized HYBE for what she described as a bizarre framing of her as a threat to management, stating, "As a minority shareholder and CEO, I have been subjected to absurd and unreasonable attacks that are hard to believe coming from a large corporation. After seven months, it has become clear that my whistleblowing was based on undeniable facts, while HYBE's ugly lies and hypocrisy are being exposed."

She continued, "Over the past seven months, I have poured my mental, financial, and physical resources into reviving Ador, which has suffered due to HYBE's serious violations of the shareholder agreement. This unprecedented situation is not yet over, but I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many supporters, including the fans of NewJeans, known as Bunnies, who have stood by me without faltering for nearly half a year."

Earlier this year, in August, the Ador board dismissed Min Hee-jin amid allegations of a power grab and appointed Kim Joo-young, the former Chief Human Resources Officer at HYBE, as the new CEO. Min contested her dismissal, claiming it violated the shareholder agreement, and filed for a provisional injunction to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting for her reappointment. However, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed her request. On October 17, Ador announced that it had held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and reappointed Min Hee-jin as an internal director. Despite this, she has now chosen to resign from her position and leave HYBE.