HYBE Labels reportedly requests ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and other executives to step down due to power struggle

The Korean media outlet MTN reported on Monday, April 22, 2024, that HYBE Labels had requested that the CEO Min Hee-jin, and the vice-president of ADOR step down from their roles on the ADOR Board. The request was made after a power struggle between HYBE and its subsidiary ADOR. This came when HYBE found out that the executives were allegedly leaking confidential information to take full control of ADOR.

HYBE Labels has also reportedly requested a shareholders' meeting during which, the label will execute its rights on ADOR and ask executives to sign off. However, MTN predicted that CEO Min Hee-jin and the other board members of ADOR will most likely turn down the offer and not appear for the meeting.

That being said, if the executives fail to appear at the meeting, HYBE is planning on taking legal action against the board members. MTN also reported that the court has enough power to grant HYBE permission to file a lawsuit. In that, the ADOR executives might go on the offense against the label.

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HYBE Labels requests ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and other executives to sign off the company's board

ADOR is an entertainment company housed under HYBE Labels and is known for its creation of the record-breaking rookie K-pop girl group NewJeans. The group, which debuted in 2023, intrigued fans due to its unique music style and concept approach. All this worked to create an inarguable hype around NewJeans and ADOR.

Most of the praise was directed towards Min Hee-jin, the CEO of ADOR and the general mastermind behind NewJeans' musical releases. She previously worked as an employee under SM Entertainment, where she began working in 2002 as a graphic designer. She worked her way up to the position of art director in the company but had to leave owing to creative differences. However, soon after leaving SM Entertainment, she kickstarted her own company, ADOR, under HYBE Labels.

Most of her journey with HYBE and ADOR has been smooth sailing, but the recent report from MTN seems to suggest that there have been some issues. HYBE allegedly asked the ADOR board members, including Min Hee-jin and Vice President L, to step down from their positions on Monday, April 22, 2024.

The executives who were asked to sign off were all Min Hee-jin's co-workers from SM Entertainment and had accompanied her to HYBE Labels. While the detailed scenario regarding HYBE's request hasn't been revealed, MTN reported that it's due to a power struggle between HYBE and ADOR.

Allegedly, Min Hee-jin, who owns only 20% of ADOR, and some of the company's executives, had been leaking confidential information to gain full control of ADOR. The allegedly leaked information includes the health records of artists and contracts between ADOR and HYBE, among other things. It was also reported that Min Hee-jin had been working to gain full rights to ADOR from HYBE since the beginning of 2024.

Following this, HYBE executed its rights over ADOR and called out Min Hee-jin's attempts to make ADOR independent from HYBE Labels. The shareholders meeting that HYBE requested not only asks the executives to step down from ADOR's Board but also demands the resignation of Min Hee-jin. Following this news, HYBE's stock prices plummeted by 8%.

However, most recently, ADOR released a statement, explaining the situation. They stated that the cause of the conflict between HYBE and ADOR was not due to the power struggle but rather the result of Bang Si-hyuk copying Min Hee-jin's ideas. The agency called out HYBE for using their ideas for ADOR and NewJeans for several of their upcoming artists, especially ILLIT.

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The statement also expressed that ADOR has not agreed to HYBE copying ADOR's ideas that brought success to NewJeans. Since HYBE has been cultivating these ideas through various means like makeup, costumes, and choreography, ADOR has allegedly been in disagreement with HYBE.