NewJeans members reported to have held an emergency meeting with ADOR’s new CEO Kim Joo-young

According to the report by Ilgan Sports, on September 24, 2024, NewJeans members held an emergency meeting with ADOR's CEO, Kim Joo-young. As per the report, the girl group members attended the meeting along with their parents to discuss the reappointment of Min Hee-jin as ADOR CEO.

This came after the group held an unauthorized YouTube livestream on September 11, demanding HYBE to reinstate Min Hee-jin as ADOR's CEO by September 25, 2024.

"What we want is the original ADOR with former CEO Min Hee-jin as the representative, in charge of management and production. We hope that you make a wise decision to restore ADOR to its original state by (September) 25th," NewJeans members said during their YouTube livestream.

Notably, ADOR's independent board of directors dismissed Min Hee-jin from her CEO position on August 28 and appointed Kim Joo-young as the new label head.

However, Ilgan Sports reported that CEO Kim Joo-young reiterated her stance about maintaining ADOR's company policies and rules.

---

HYBE and Min Hee-jin ongoing tussle completely entangles NewJeans into the feud

Min Hee-jin's feud with HYBE started in April 2024 when the company accused her of trying to take over ADOR. As ADOR's parent company, owning 80% of its shares, HYBE conducted an internal audit and found incriminating evidence against Min Hee-jin.

In April 2024, Min Hee-jin served as the CEO of ADOR and oversaw the production and operations of NewJeans—the label's only group. HYBE filed a criminal lawsuit against her for breach of contract and leaking company secrets to third parties. Later, it was reported that she met with Dunamu's executives and suggested taking over ADOR from HYBE.

As the third-largest shareholder of HYBE, Dunamu (owner of NAVER) reported the meeting to HYBE. The company then called for an emergency shareholders' meeting on May 30, 2024, to discuss the dismissal of Min Hee-jin as ADOR's CEO. However, Min Hee-jin filed a temporary injunction prohibiting HYBE from using its voting rights in the meeting.

The case's first hearing was held on May 17, 2024, at the Seoul Central District Court. The second and final hearing was held on May 29, where the court highlighted that Min Hee-jin's intention to take over ADOR from HYBE was evident. The court stated that since she failed to execute her plans, any penalty against her cannot be announced.

"It is clear that Min sought ways to weaken HYBE's control over Ador and gain independent control. However, it is difficult to conclude that these actions progressed beyond execution. And while Min’s action might be seen as a betrayal of HYBE, it is hard to argue that it constitutes breach of trust," the court said, as reported by The Korea Times.

However, the court sanctioned Min Hee-jin's injunction plea and forbade HYBE from using its voting rights at the shareholders' meeting. On May 30, 2024, she managed to keep her position as ADOR's CEO, but HYBE replaced the board of directors by firing previous executives who were part of the conspiracy.

After several months of overseeing ADOR and its operations, ADOR's independent board of directors dismissed Min Hee-jin as the CEO on August 28, 2024. Human Resources head Kim Joo-young was appointed as the new CEO. She immediately reopened the s*xual harassment case by a former ADOR employee against an executive and Min Hee-jin.

Following this, Min Hee-jin refused to sign the new contract sent by the ADOR board of directors, appointing her as the internal creative head for NewJeans. On September 11, NewJeans held a YouTube livestream and expressed their displeasure under the new management.

---

On September 12, Min Hee-jin filed another injunction and called a shareholders' meeting, demanding to be restored as ADOR's CEO.