Min Hee-jin (middle), the previous CEO of Ador, speaks at a press convention concerning the corporate’s extraordinary normal assembly in Jung-gu, Seoul, Could 31. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald)
The continued authorized battle between Min Hee-jin, former CEO of Ador, and Hybe has taken one other flip, as an inner whistleblower offered new proof for the accusation that Illit, a rookie Ok-pop lady group beneath Belift Lab, plagiarized the idea of NewJeans. The proof was revealed in a court docket listening to on the Seoul Central District Court docket on Friday. Belift Lab is a sister firm of Ador, as each are subsidiaries of Hybe.
New proof has surfaced regarding Illit’s alleged imitation of NewJeans, which is a key subject, as Min alleges her complaints in regards to the matter led to Hybe launching an inner audit in March. The problem was additionally raised at a Nationwide Meeting audit on Monday.
In keeping with Min’s authorized staff of Shin & Kim, an inner Hybe worker revealed that Illit’s artistic director had requested NewJeans’ challenge plan throughout the early phases of planning for the launch of Illit. The whistleblower claimed that the 2 teams’ ideas had been similar.
Min’s authorized staff introduced textual content messages and telephone name recordings, quoting the whistleblower as purportedly saying concerning the launch idea, “I by no means imagined they’d make it precisely the identical. … They will need to have checked out all this, so why do they preserve denying it? It made me really feel very uncomfortable.”
Hybe has firmly denied the plagiarism accusations. Belift Lab has additionally denied the allegations and is pursuing authorized motion in opposition to Min for defamation.
Belift Lab beforehand performed an inner investigation and asserted that the claims had been baseless. In Could, Belift Lab filed defamation and interference with enterprise prices in opposition to Min.
Display screen captures present textual content messages shared between Min’s authorized agency Shin & Kim and an inner Hybe worker concerning accusations of Illit plagiarizing the idea of NewJeans. (Macoll Consulting Group)
On the coronary heart of the dispute is Min’s declare that Hybe violated shareholder agreements by dismissing her from Ador’s board of administrators, which compelled her to step down from the highest place regardless of a court docket injunction stopping such actions in Could.
Final month, Min filed one other injunction with the Seoul Central District Court docket in search of to convene an emergency shareholders assembly for Ador and to reinstate her as a board member.
In the course of the listening to, Min’s authorized staff pointed to a shareholders’ settlement, legitimate for 5 years from November 2021, which they declare Hybe violated by dismissing her. The current injunction seeks to drive Hybe’s administrators to vote in favor of reinstating Min.
Additionally they highlighted Ador’s fast success beneath Min’s administration, noting that the corporate achieved a staggering 110.2 billion received ($81.5 million) in income and 33.5 billion received in working revenue in 2023 — doubling Hybe’s preliminary 16.1 billion received funding in simply two years. They emphasised that no different leisure firm prior to now 30 years has delivered such swift outcomes.
Min’s aspect argued that the foundation of the battle lies within the mum or dad firm’s betrayal, mistreatment and harassment. She additional accused Hybe of partaking in a smear marketing campaign, masking up office bullying focusing on NewJeans’ Hanni and permitting Illit to plagiarize NewJeans’ idea.
Hybe, once more, refuted Min’s allegations, accusing her of hiring outdoors specialists and dealing with Ador’s deputy CEO, Lee Sang-woo, in a bid to ascertain Ador as an impartial entity — actions the mum or dad firm says undermined belief.
The dispute, which started in April, nonetheless reveals no indicators of decision, as both sides continues to accuse the opposite of betrayal.