On June 3, Go Sang-rok, former lawyer of Kim & Chang (a firm representing HYBE), shared his opinion that Belift Lab’s defamation lawsuit against Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, could result in an acquittal . Go Sang-rok spoke on YouTube, in a video where he discussed Min Hee-jin’s second press conference, the impact of the injunction she filed to prevent HYBE from exercising their voting rights to remove her from her position as CEO, and other matters.
According to the video posted on YouTube channel Lawyersutube on May 31, Go Sang-rok received a comment asking whether Belift Lab’s defamation lawsuit would be relevant. Go Sang-rok responded that the decision would be “an acquittal,” given that Min Hee-jin had previously obtained a temporary injunction against HYBE. He said: “Yes, I expect an acquittal. This decision will be submitted to the investigating agency and will play a significant role in persuading the police.”
On May 22, Belift Lab filed a lawsuit against Min Hee-jin for defamation, due to her accusations of plagiarism against the agency, accused of copying the concept, music video, choreography and clothing style from ADOR’s NewJeans for Belift Lab’s new girl group, ILLIT.
HYBE vs. ADOR Dispute: Court Grants Temporary Injunction Allowing Min Hee-jin to Retain CEO Position, Charges Against Belift Lab, and More
HYBE reportedly called a special shareholders’ meeting with the agenda to remove Min Hee-jin as CEO of ADOR, accusing him of seizing the management rights of the agency and separating it from his agency mother. HYBE owns 80% of the shares of subsidiary agency ADOR, 18% belongs to Min Hee-jin, and ADOR employees own 2%.
On May 30, during the second and final hearing of the trial, the Civil Agreement Department of the Seoul Central District Court granted Min Hee-jin a temporary injunction. This would not only allow her to retain her position as CEO of ADOR, but also prevent HYBE from exercising its right to remove her.
ADOR’s CEO previously accused producer and HYBE president Bang Si-hyuk of plagiarizing the concept of NewJeans for Belift Lab’s girl group ILLIT. On the other hand, HYBE had accused Min Hee-jin of breach of trust, refuting her allegations. The court said the evidence submitted by HYBE was not sufficient to justify Min Hee-jin’s dismissal.
The court clarified: “It is necessary to determine whether Min Hee-jin has grounds for impeachment or resignation through a thorough investigation of the evidence and a careful hearing on the main issue. The arguments and data submitted so far have not adequately explained the reasons for dismissal or resignation put forward by HYBE. »
Additionally, raising issues of plagiarism committed by another agency under the umbrella of HYBE Corporation (Belift Lab) was seen as part of fulfilling its contractual duties to protect NewJeans. The court also said that this could be seen as an act of betrayal in the eyes of HYBE, however, this was not enough to prove a breach of trust.
According to Sports Kyunghyang, a South Korean media outlet, the court said:
“It is difficult to view actions such as raising questions as a breach of trust in ADOR. »
On May 31, close executives of ADOR’s CEO were reportedly dismissed during the extraordinary meeting of shareholders. HYBE reportedly appointed human resources director Kim Joo-young, strategy director Lee Jae-sang, and financial director Lee Kyeong-jun.
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