SEOUL, Aug 28 — Kpop music label ADOR announced the replacement of its CEO Min Hee-jin yesterday, following a legal dispute between her and the label’s parent company, HYBE.
Min has strongly contested the decision, calling it a “unilateral dismissal” made against her will, reported Yonhap news agency.
A member of ADOR’s board, Kim Ju-young, was appointed as the new CEO during a board meeting, which Min attended via phone.
Kim who is HYBE chief HR officer, was previously game publisher Krafton HR department head and with household goods manufacturer Yuhan-Kimberly until she joined HYBE in May 2022, reported Korea Joong Ang Daily.
Min, who previously served as a creative director at HYBEe’s rival, SM Entertainment, will continue to serve on the board and produce music for its talents, girl group NewJeans — whose success she has been credited for.
She has been caught up in n a dispute with HYBE over allegations that she had plotted to seize control of ADOR and take the girl group with her.
HYBE, which owns 80 percent of ADOR’s shares, previously attempted to remove Min as CEO through a shareholders’ meeting in May, but she retained her seat after a local court granted an injunction against HYBE’s plan.
With this change, ADOR has separated production from management.
“The separation of production and management has been a consistent principle of (HYBE’s) multi-label system, applied to all other labels. Until now, ADOR was the only exception where the CEO oversaw both production and management,” the label said.
The replacement comes after HYBE put three of its executives on ADOR’s board during the shareholders’ meeting on May 31, taking over control of the board, removing two directors who are Min’s close aides.
The label explained that the court’s decision to grant the injunction in May is unrelated to Tuesday’s board decision as it applies only to the May 31 shareholders’ meeting.
The company pledged in a statement to provide full support for NewJeans’ growth and greater success with the personnel change and restructuring.
Min’s lawyer said the board’s action to dismiss her against her will was, “a grave violation of the shareholders’ agreement.
“The company stated Min would continue producing music for NewJeans, but this was also not agreed upon”.
