Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin has been cleared of occupational breach of trust charges filed by HYBE.
On July 15, the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul announced that the decision was made for former CEO Min Hee Jin, who was reported by HYBE on charges of occupational breach of trust, to not be forwarded to the prosecution, concluding that there was no suspicion of a crime.
Following the police’s decision, a representative of Min Hee Jin released the following official statement:
Last April, HYBE filed a criminal complaint against former CEO Min Hee Jin on charges of occupational breach of trust.
After more than a year of police investigation, it has been determined that there was no illegality on the part of former CEO Min Hee Jin regarding these charges. Today (July 15), we inform you that the police have decided not to refer both cases reported by HYBE to the prosecution, concluding that there is “no suspicion of a crime.”
HYBE has released the following statement regarding the police’s decision on the breach of trust allegations against Min Hee Jin:
This is a notice from HYBE.
Regarding the occupational breach of trust case that HYBE filed last year against former CEO Min Hee Jin and others, which was decided to not be forwarded to the prosecution, our company plans to immediately file an objection with the prosecution today.
Since the police investigation, new developments have occurred, such as the NewJeans members declaring the termination of their contracts. In addition, numerous new pieces of evidence have been submitted in related court proceedings, and based on these, the court has taken a very serious view of former CEO Min Hee Jin’s actions. The appellate court handling the injunction (Seoul High Court) determined that Min Hee Jin “is in a position of intentionally destroying the integrated structure that was the premise of the exclusive contract.” Accordingly, we intend to contest the non-indictment decision through the objection process.
Furthermore, regarding the case in which Min Hee Jin and others filed complaints last July against five members of HYBE’s management for occupational breach of trust and violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (defamation), the investigative authorities have decided not to forward to the prosecution, finding no charges. The authorities determined that HYBE’s claims “are not easily regarded as false,” “do not appear to have been made with the intent to slander, as they concern the public interest,” and that “the KakaoTalk conversations were obtained through legitimate authority during the audit process.”
Additionally, we would like to inform you that all indiscriminate complaints and accusations filed by Min Hee Jin and her associates against HYBE and its affiliates’ executives and employees have also resulted in decisions of not being forwarded to the prosecution:
- The case in which Min Hee Jin accused BELIFT LAB’s management and creative directors of defamation and false accusation
- The case in which Team Bunnies accused BELIFT LAB’s management of violating the Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (defamation)
- The case in which Shin Woo Seok, CEO of Dolphiners Films, accused the current management of ADOR of violating the Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (defamation)
All of these cases have either not been forwarded to the prosecution or dismissed.
Thank you.
Previously in April of last year, HYBE filed a criminal complaint against Min Hee Jin, who was at the time the CEO of ADOR—one of HYBE’s labels and the agency for the girl group NewJeans—accusing her of occupational breach of trust and other charges and claiming she attempted to seize management control.
Min Hee Jin refuted these allegations, stating that it would be impossible to take over management control since HYBE, as the largest shareholder of ADOR, owns 80 percent of its shares. She also claimed that after she raised concerns that ILLIT, a group under HYBE’s other label BELIFT LAB, had plagiarized NewJeans, HYBE conducted a retaliatory audit against her.
