Seoul court dismisses Min Hee-jin’s injunction to be reinstated as ADOR CEO

Min Hee-jin’s court injunction to be re-appointed as ADOR‘s CEO has been denied by a South Korean court.

Min Hee-jin previously stepped down from her role as CEO of the K-pop label – home to NewJeans and subsidiary label under HYBE – in late August, which she later claimed was not her choice. The announcement came amid a lengthy feud between Min and HYBE, which owns the majority of ADOR, over the control of the company.

Yonhap News Agency confirmed that the verdict from the Seoul Central District Court, announced on October 29, explained that “the claims [from Min Hee-jin] do not meet the requirements to constitute the legal grounds for a court judgement”.

This comes after a local court hearing for the case was held on October 11 for an injunction she filed last month to return to her former position.

In response to the court’s decision, HYBE has issued the following statement on October 30: “We acknowledge and appreciate the court’s wise ruling. In light of this decision, HYBE is dedicated to normalising ADOR’s operations, improving our multi-label capabilities, and supporting the activities of our artists.”

Since her departure from the role, the company’s flagship band NewJeans and its fans have spoken up in support of Min’s reappointment as CEO. NewJeans held an unapproved, now-deleted livestream on September 11 calling for HYBE to restore Min’s previous title, while some fans sent the corporation open letters expressing their concerns about the “management shake-up” at ADOR.

ADOR said on September 25 that it “cannot accept the request to re-appoint Min as CEO”. Instead, the HYBE label offered her a seat on ADOR’s board as an internal director. Min’s renewed term, initially due to end on November 1, would later be extended for three additional years following a board meeting on October 17.

In other news, HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang has issued an apology regarding leaked internal reports that allegedly contained malicious comments about K-pop idols. “The document was created in the process of collecting various responses and public opinions on industry trends and issues,” he wrote, admitting that “the content of the document was very inappropriate”.

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