Earlier this week, HYBE shocked the public after announcing that they initiated an audit within the sub-label ADOR, home to NewJeans, after receiving reports that executives of the label were secretly trying to take over their management rights to turn ADOR into an independent company. The investigation focused on whether ADOR executives, particularly CEO Min Hee Jin, plotted to take over the sub-label by allegedly leaking confidential contracts in order to attract investors, disclosing trade secrets and artist's private information, and soliciting personnel appointments.
After reports of the audit were made public, ADOR's CEO Min Hee Jin released her own statement wherein she accused HYBE of allowing BELIFT LAB's rookie girl group ILLIT of plagiarizing NewJeans. Both ADOR and Belift Lab are sub-labels of HYBE.
On the morning of April 25th, HYBE released the current results of the internal audit they conducted, and confirmed that they found specific facts and secured physical evidence to prove that ADOR planned to seize management rights.
In particular, HYBE said that they found proof that ADOR's CEO, Min Hee Jin, instructed executives to prepare a way to pressure HYBE into selling their shares of ADOR. In addition, they also found proof where they discussed how to invalidate the contract between HYBE and ADOR. Morover, there were also conversations such as, 'let's bring in global funds and make a deal with HYBE,' 'be critical to everything that HYBE does,' and 'think of ways to harass HYBE."
After the results were made public, on the afternoon of April 25th, CEO Min Hee Jin held an emergency press conference to address the accusations.
During the press conference, Min Hee Jin admitted that she didn't saw the audit coming at all and firmly denied attempting to take over ADOR as independent company from HYBE. "I wasn't expecting the audit at all. It began so suddenly on Monday. HYBE is going forward with a public relations strategy stronger than it does with its artists. I have become a witch. My top priority is to clear my name, and the second is to reveal the truth of what happened."
"I have no idea where the 'usurper' frame came from. We just said these things and said, 'HYBE has 80 percent of the company.' You have to know all the stories to understand all this," she said, adding. "It's not me that turned my back on HYBE, it's HYBE that betrayed me. It used me to the fullest and now wants to take me down because I don't listen to them. No one has done what I have done during the 30 years in K-pop. But HYBE is trying to kill someone who's done what I have as the head of a subsidiary. When I quit SM Entertainment, that was also followed by rumors that I turned my back on them. You have to know that I am a strange person. I left SM Entertainment because Lee Soo-man thought that I was smart. It was difficult but I worked hard."
HYBE has yet to respond to the embattled CEO's statements.
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