Megathread 18: HYBE / ADOR / MHJ - First legal proceedings commence, Employee B's Mediation with MHJ fails, MHJ vs. HYBE/Belift Lab Shareholder Contract and Defamation cases ahead, and More

This megathread is about the ongoing dispute within HYBE and the management of sub-label ADOR.

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Summary of Previous Megathreads

  • ONE and TWO and THREE contains HYBE's audit of ADOR and Min Hee Jin's 1st press conference.

  • FOUR summarized all events up to April 30th, 2024.

  • FIVE and SIX contains potential ADOR embezzlement, MHJ's injunction and hearing, and a letter from the parents of NewJeans.

  • SEVEN and EIGHT and NINE contains MHJ's injunction granted May 30th and remaining ADOR CEO, HYBE replacing ADOR board members, BELIFT LAB's video regarding plagiarism and lawsuit against MHJ.

  • TEN and ELEVEN and TWELVE contains ex-ADOR employee's sexual harassment case, band Shakatak's plagiarism claim, HYBE 2.0 and ADOR restructuring with new CEO Kim Joo Young, MV director drama, the NewJeans livestream, MHJ's 2nd injunction filing and public events/interviews.

  • THIRTEEN and FOURTEEN and FIFTEEN contains an interview with NewJeans' parents, Hanni and CEO Kim Joo Young at the National Assembly, MHJ's reappointment as director, Kim Taeho at the National Assembly, HYBE's Weekly Industry Report leak, the court's dismissal of MHJ's 2nd Injunction, ADOR board's vote against making MHJ's CEO again, NewJeans' certified letter of ultimatum to ADOR, rejection of Hanni's workplace bullying claim by labor ministry, MHJ's resignation from ADOR, and NewJeans' contract termination press conference.

MEGATHREAD SIXTEEN covered the end of November and first week of December.

  • Contains: More on the NewJeans' contract termination press conference, their official statement, and ADOR's responses, the contents of ADOR's 26-page response to the demands in NewJeans' certified letter, Dispatch's exposé on Min Hee Jin's alleged corroboration with NewJeans to strategically leave HYBE, and ADOR's lawsuit to confirm the validity of NewJeans members contracts. (Concurrently with this Megathread, South Korea's President declared Martial Law on December 3rd, causing media to prioritize national/political matters.)

MEGATHREAD SEVENTEEN covered the end of 2024.

  • Contains: 'Manager A' accusation of workplace harassment against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young while ADOR claimed the manager had tried negotiating advertising contracts for NewJeans without consent of the company, KMCA/KOSPO statements of concern regarding tampering and threat to industry and social trust, the 'jeanzforfree' Instagram account made by the NewJeans group members outside of ADOR control, speculation over Hanni's visa status and ADOR's response, NJ's Christmas radio appearance, Employee B's mediation date set vs. MHJ, and HYBE sub-labels regular legal action updates for all artists including NewJeans.

Articles / Timeline

250106

(To avoid confusion, we'll continue to refer to the former ADOR employee as 'Employee B' here, but articles may name her differently, like 'A' or other variations.)

  • The first mediation was unsuccessful in the damages lawsuit filed by former ADOR Employee B against Min Hee Jin for defamation and involvement in a sexual harassment case with former ADOR VP. Employee B had stated she would agree to mediation if MHJ admitted wrongdoing and apologized. On the afternoon of the 6th, only MHJ's representative from Sejong Law Firm was present and stated that MHJ was maintaining the position she had no intention of mediation and that Employee B was misrepresenting the entire truth of what happened. (Source: TV Daily)

  • Employee B took to social media to describe what she had experienced at the mediation proceedings. She noted only lawyers were present for MHJ's side and they denied all allegations so there was no mediation, saying "We'll see what happens in court." (Source: Newsen)

  • (The KBIZoom article that was linked here previously has now been removed. We had missed a point it misrepresented about the mediation.)

250109

250110

  • The first hearing for Belift Lab's damages case (for 2 billion won) against Min Hee Jin was held on the afternoon of the 10th. The judge summarized the arguments from both. Belift's side believed ILLIT's work was not copying NewJeans and that both groups are conceptually not dissimilar from other girl groups like SES or TLC, while MHJ's claims had caused loss of SNS engagement, dropping album sales, ad contract cancellations, and mental distress for ILLIT. MHJ's side believed various concepts, photoshoots, performances, and designs had been copied including reference to a planning proposal which showed these ideas had been shared between the labels, and that there was no intention to spread misinformation or obstruct business with MHJ's comments, but they were made in the public interest. The judge noted the ways each side would need to prove their claims and distinguish between facts and opinions. The date of the next hearing was set for March 7th. (Source: Star News)

  • Also on the 10th, the first hearing for Source Music's damages case (for 500 million won) against Min Hee Jin. Again, legal representatives were present and the arguments were summarized. MHJ's side defended with claims of neglecting NewJeans' debut, internal whistleblowing over ILLIT's debut, and the incompetence of Bang Sihyuk. Source's side claimed MHJ made groundless and insulting comments during her public press conference including confused issues around Source or HYBE casting/training for NewJeans, and MHJ missing deadlines resulting in a delayed debut. The judge also had an exchange with the Source side affirming that this case can be considered in the same context as the Belift case. The date of the next hearing was set for March 14th. (Sources: Star News & Edaily & Ilgan Sports)

250113

  • The Ministry of Employment and Labor closed the case filed against HYBE for workplace bullying/harassment. A former ADOR VP associated with Min Hee Jin had accused HYBE claiming they had conducted illegal audits and collected info/assets by force. This was done as HYBE/ADOR had made the decision to reinvestigate Employee B's sexual harassment claims involving the VP and MHJ and an un-biased third party agency was hired for the task. Chosun Biz presented Telegram screenshots in their article which implicated Min Hee Jin had advised/orchestrated the VP's response and complaint to the Ministry about the reinvestigation. HYBE was cleared of wrongdoing with the audits/reinvestigation. (Source: Chosun Biz)

  • Following the release of the Chosun Biz article above, Employee B posted a temporary Instagram story, briefly making a positive comment, 'It's amazing ㅋㅋ'.

  • ADOR made a statement that they had filed an injunction to prevent the members of NewJeans from signing advertising contracts outside of their exclusive contract. This is intended to be in place until a verdict is determined for the 'confirmation of exclusive contract validity' case ADOR filed back on December 3rd, and to reduce confusion or damage to third parties. (Source: Newsen)

  • Yonhap: ADOR files injunction to prevent NewJeans from signing independent advertising contracts

  • Korea JoongAng Daily: ADOR asks court to stop NewJeans' members from independently signing commercial deals

Looking Ahead:

  • March 7: Next hearing for Belift Lab vs. Min Hee Jin

  • March 14: Next hearing for Source Music vs. Min Hee Jin

Ongoing Legal Complaints/Investigations:

  • HYBE's report to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) regarding potential insider trading by ADOR management (Korea JoongAng)

  • HYBE's complaint against Min Hee Jin for 'breach of trust' (Yonhap)

  • Belift Lab's complaint against Min Hee Jin for defamation (Soompi) and additionally for business interference (The Korea Herald)

  • SOURCE MUSIC's lawsuit against Min Hee Jin for damages in regards to the disruption of business/defamation of LE SSERAFIM (Korea JoongAng) and additionally regarding alleged false claims by MHJ for the launch strategy of N Team/NewJeans (Soompi)

  • British band Shakatak's plagiarism claim against NewJeans' 'Bubble Gum' (Yonhap)

  • Min Hee Jin and HYBE executives filed reports against each other back-to-back (Soompi and Korea JoongAng)

  • Former ADOR Employee 'B' filed complaint against MHJ in relation to sexual harassment cover-up and workplace mistreatment. (JTBC)

  • MV Director Shin Woo Seok filed a lawsuit against ADOR CEO Kim Joo Young and ADOR VP Lee Do Kyung for defamation. (Korea JoongAng)

  • MHJ's lawsuits against Belift Lab's Kim Tae Ho for defamation (Yonhap), HYBE CCO Park Tae Hee and PR Director Cho for breach of duty (Yonhap), and HYBE executives and Dispatch reporters for defamation. (Soompi) (One or both of these might be re-statements of earlier suits.)

  • ADOR's lawsuit to determine validity of their contracts with NewJeans (Soompi)

  • Other Legal Action statements: SOURCE MUSIC on behalf of LE SSERAFIM, BIGHIT MUSIC on behalf of BTS, and ADOR on behalf of NewJeans.

Link back to MEGATHREADS 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17

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