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On March 19, 2025, former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin won a lawsuit against online trolls. She sued people who posted "malicious" comments about her during her dispute with HYBE— and the court ruled in her favor.
The Seoul Central District Court’s Judge Ahn Hyun-jin ordered eight individuals to pay damages between 50,000 and 100,000 won each. The ruling is final, as neither party appealed.
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The court recognized that the comments inflicted mental harm but ruled that the compensation would be much lower than Min Hee-jin’s initial request. The most severe insult— comprising just three offensive Korean characters— was penalized at 100,000 won.
Other derogatory remarks, such as threats of physical violence and crude name-calling, resulted in 50,000 won fines per commenter. However, some remarks, including “cunning X,” were deemed harsh but not legally defamatory. The court considered them expressions of opinion rather than outright personal rights violations.
"It may be seen as an insult, but the degree is relatively minor and not overly malicious. Considering that it can be seen as an extreme expression of one’s opinion about former Representative Min," the court ruled (quoted by Herald Economy).
The lawsuit originated from the April controversy when HYBE accused Min Hee-jin of trying to make ADOR independent and gain management control.
"This was a request for independent label operation and resolving unreasonable interference that came out during NewJeans' debut process," said HYBE (quoted by Maeil Business Newspaper).
As the dispute grew, Min Hee-jin held two press conferences to refute the allegations. After the second one, many online comments appeared. They personally attacked and defamed her in news articles.
The 46-year-old then took legal action, claiming the remarks caused severe mental distress. She sought 3 million won per offender in compensation.
Min Hee-jin faces allegations of tampering
New court documents from the March 11, 2025, allegedly hearing reveal Min Hee-jin and Sejong Law Firm's involvement in NJZ’s contract termination. The PDF termination notice, sent on November 29, 2024, reportedly had metadata linking it to Sejong, and was authored by the firm and tied to the corporate account “S&K.”
NJZ requested corrective measures on November 14, 2024. Min Hee-jin resigned as ADOR’s CEO on November 20, 2024. Then, NJZ ended their contract on November 28, 2024— right before ADOR’s response deadline.
ADOR claims Min’s involvement is tampering and laid out a timeline. The record label also showed KakaoTalk messages, emails from Min Hee-jin’s phone, and similarities between NJZ’s termination notice and a May 2024 case tied to Min.
ADOR insists it upheld all terms, making NJZ’s termination unlawful, while NJZ claims an irreparable breakdown of trust justified their exit. During a March 7, 2025, hearing, all NJZ members affirmed:
"We have no intention of staying with ADOR.”
The case has sparked industry-wide concern. Five major music groups warned that the tampering claims could shake up K-pop and open the door for foreign control. They’ve called on the government to step in.
The court set a March 14, 2025, deadline for all evidence submissions. However, there is no publicly available information confirming that NJZ has presented the revised justifications for contract termination by the deadline. The first trial on the contract’s validity is set for April 3, 2025.
