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On April 21, 2024, the music director, Youngeum Lee of the NewJeans' Bubble Gum video, reportedly shared a screenshot of her conversation with ADOR's CEO, Min Hee-jin. She updated the Kakao Talk conversation with Min Hee-jin on her Instagram story. The text exchange between the two colleagues shed light on ADOR's CEO's behavior as a boss.
The screenshot of the Kakao Talk conversation was shared by netizens on TheQoo platform and went viral on social media. In the text messages, Min Hee-jin seemed kind to her co-workers and offered them something to eat as they worked on the music video, Bubble Gum.
The Bubble Gum music video was released on April 26, 2024, on the official YouTube channel of HYBE LABELS. In the description section, the corporation has credited Min Hee-jin and Youngeum Lee for being the producer and music video director, respectively, for NewJeans' latest track.
Min Hee-jin asked if Director Youngeum Lee wanted to eat something yummy while editing
In the Kakao Conversation, ADOR's CEO, Min Hee-jin, initiated the talk, where she stated 'Hello' followed by 'Hahaha' in the Korean language. The CEO further inquired about the time when she would be able to see the raw edits of Bubble Gum. Youngeum Lee responded by adding an exclamation mark, saying that she was working on the music video.
Subsequently, the CEO expressed her gratitude with some laugh expressions. She further asked the music director if she wanted to eat something yummy while working at the studio, attaching pictures of food items.
ADOR's CEO continued asking if she was working with the other associate and the address of the studio to send them some food. However, music director Youngeum Lee kindly declined her offer and texted, 'It's Okay!" She appeared to joke with Min Hee-jin that the latter would regret feeding them after watching the edits of the Bubble Gum music video.
Following their healthy employee conversation, Youngeum Lee warned her, stating that she should see the edits for the Bubble Gum video first before sending them anything to eat. In response, the CEO left a sign of relief and added 'Hahaha' letters in Korean.
She stated that after watching edits, she would ask them to eat more so that the director could have the energy to re-edit the Bubble Gum music video if it failed to satisfy the team. At the end of the conversation, she encouraged them and stated that they could do the editing well.
The screenshot of the texts was reportedly shared before HYBE allegedly accused ADOR's CEO of separating the subsidiary from the parent company by securing independent management rights for the subsidiary. The corporation also initiated an audit against her and the board of directors. She was asked to step down from the position of CEO on April 22, 2024.
Another South Korean media outlet also reported that Min Hee-jin allegedly failed to separate the subsidiary from HYBE and was seeking independence for a long time. They also accused her of having secret meetings with investors who would help her purchase HYBE's shares in ADOR.
The CEO was also reported to have wrongfully secured international and sensitive documents from the agency, and HYBE had discovered evidence of her allegedly abusing employees. However, Min Hee-jin denied all the allegations against her and claimed that HYBE wanted to dismiss her when she raised concerns about the K-pop group ILLIT allegedly copying NewJeans.
As the Kakao conversation between Min Hee-jin and Youngeum Lee went viral on social media, the K-pop community was divided in their opinions. While some stated that she would not have abused her employees, others felt that nobody knew the truth and that there were always two sides to a coin.
More about ADOR's CEO
Born in 1979, 45-year-old South Korean art director and graphic designer Min Hee-jin is the CEO of ADOR, the subsidiary of parent company HYBE LABELS. She has also served as a chief brand officer since the graphic designer joined HYBE in 2019.
Starting her career at SM Entertainment in 2002 as a graphic designer, she was promoted to creative director and was responsible for branding of K-pop groups, including Girls' Generation, f(x), Shinee, EXO, Red Velvet, and others.
She joined HYBE LABELS in 2019 and was provided with the responsibility of being the CEO of ADOR (All Doors One Room). She trained and launched the label's first girl group, NewJeans, in July 2022.
South Korean media outlet Yonhap News reported that ADOR's CEO requested a change in the date for the general shareholders' meeting hearing with HYBE. However, the court has rejected her request.
