by Reporter Kwon Namyoung
It has been revealed that ADOR demanded the authority to unilaterally terminate New Jeans' exclusive contract without having to go through ADOR's board of directors earlier this year.
According to sources on the 2nd, the legal firm that represents Min Heejin sent a revised shareholder agreement to HYBE in February this year. This occurred after both sides engaged in negotiations regarding changing ownership shares at the end of last year.
HYBE judged this proposal was unreasonable and rejected it.
From the perspective of entertainment companies, their exclusive contract rights of their artists are considered important assets for company operations. That's why it's customary for major entertainment companies to require board approval for exclusive contracts.
For example, BTS and BLACKPINK have publicly announced the completion of board resolutions for the renewal of exclusive contracts or for the signing of group exclusive contracts.
If Min Heejins's demands were accepted, it would mean that New Jeans could terminate exclusive contracts solely at the will of Min Heejin, without going through the board of directors of either ADOR or HYBE.
Currently, the ADOR board of directors consists of three members, with Min Heejin and her close associates, Vice President Shin and Director Kim holding decision-making power. In other words, Min Heejin controls the board.
However, with the current structure, if such a move were detected, HYBE, which owns 80% of ADOR shares, could hold a shareholders' meeting to replace the ADOR board of directors and prevent the departure of affiliated artists. However, if Min Heejin were to have the right to terminate exclusive contracts, HYBE would lose its means to prevent the departure of affiliated artists (New Jeans).
HYBE suspects that such demands from Min Heejin are related to the conversation transcript stating "ADOR becomes an empty shell" that was disclosed in the interim audit results on April 25th.
According to the interim audit findings, Mr. A, an associate of Min Heejin, proposed options such as "Exercies put options on January 2, 2025 (Exit) → ADOR becomes an empty shell → seek financial investors → HYBE will be advised to sell ADOR → sell at a reasonable price → Min Heejin acquires ADOR shares with the money obtained from being ADOR CEO + CashOut", among others.
However, Min Heejin's side claims that these proposals are at the level of "private discussions." She stated at a press conference on April 25th, "I have no interest in taking away management rights or anything like that. I really don't understand (about taking away management rights)."
-If this is true, Min Hee-jin seems to be in some danger too.
-She said she never planned to take over the management rights. With so much manipulation, how can we trust her?
-If that's the case, why not just go to court and fight instead of constantly leaking to the media? Don't they have confidence in winning?
-So, this is what she demanded after all the negotiations failed... And if she just asked HYBE directly for the right to terminate, it's not like she secretly planned to leave, right? She just openly asked for the right to terminate, but since her contract negotiations failed, she'll probably be stuck there.
-It's better not to be swayed by public opinion and just observe this matter...
-No matter how you look at it, it's not betrayal
-HYBE seems desperate
-I can't trust Hive at all, this all sounds like media play!!
-It seems like they're doing media play again.
-If they've already decided to dismiss her, they should at least protect the artists, but instead, HYBE keeps mistreating New Jeans
-It's becoming more certain that there's no evidence of betrayal.
-Go, Min Heejin!
-They're cleverly trying to twist her words again.
-Min Hee-jin was really in the right all this time...
-Stop the media play already, it's been two weeks, how many articles are they going to publish?
-Just let it go, HYBE. It's a bit embarrassing, don't you think?
-So where's the evidence of betrayal?
-Stop the media play, HYBE, it's disgusting.
-HYBE is so childishㅋㅋㅋ They asked for it in February. Why are they blowing it up now just before New Jeans comeback and calling it betrayalㅋㅋㅋ?
-Min Heejin didn't do it behind the scenes, she just asked straightforwardly, and they all rejected itㅋㅋㅋ
