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On Friday, May 31, following HYBE Labels' termination of ADOR employees, ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin released a statement responding to the situation. She expressed that HYBE Labels had gone against the court ruling. Min Hee-jin explained that since the court stated there were no grounds to fire her, there were therefore no grounds to terminate the ADOR executives either. However, HYBE still going ahead with the termination was not permitted.
Here's what the lawyer for Min Hee-jin stated following the termination of ADOR executives:
"As there are no grounds for Min Hee Jin’s termination, there are no grounds to dismiss the two ADOR executives. Therefore, if HYBE were to terminate them, this would mean HYBE has ignored the court’s ruling and has terminated them without just cause."
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On May 31, HYBE Labels reportedly held an unusual shareholders meeting where they dismissed the two closest allies of ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin. During the meeting, it was concluded that Deputy CEO Shin and Director Kim were fired and were replaced by three HYBE directors. The new directors are Chief Human Resources Officer Kim Ju-young, Chief Strategy Officer Lee Jae-seong, and Chief Financial Officer Lee Kyung-jun.
HYBE Labels' CEO Park Ji-won responds following backlash received for ADOR executives' termination
As the controversy surrounding the termination of ADOR's executives continued to generate significant discussion online, the CEO responded through an internal email sent to the ADOR executives. Park Ji-won explained that the decision was made to restrict the ADOR executives' voting rights because it was allegedly overpowering HYBE's control over ADOR. He stated,
"Regarding this decision, the court stated, "Min Hee-jin clearly weakened HYBE’s control over ADOR by stepping out of HYBE’s boundaries with NewJeans and pressuring HYBE to sell ADOR’s shares." As this has been clearly stated, we plan to follow the necessary procedures within the law."
He further continued,
"We will carry out the best measures we can so that the hard work of our employees who have trusted the company will not be in vain. We ask everyone to continue working unwaveringly and not worry. We will do our best so that the value of our IP and the achievements of our members are not damaged."
Following the most recent court trial between Min Hee-jin and HYBE Labels, the court sided with the ADOR CEO, stating that HYBE does not have the grounds to take away Min Hee-jin's voting rights on ADOR. This means that the HYBE cannot hold the shareholders' meeting planned for May 31, as the ruling expected Min Hee-jin to remain in ADOR.
Despite this, HYBE Labels held the shareholders' meeting and terminated two ADOR executives who were in close support of Min Hee-jin. Following this announcement, netizens began to criticize the agency for its actions. They even gave the agency a new nickname, CHUYBE, which is an amalgamation of the word "pathetic" in Korean, Choohae, and HYBE.
Regardless, netizens continued to criticize both the actions of HYBE Labels and Park Ji-won. They called him out for blaming the downfall of HYBE on the workers of the agency and ADOR instead acknowledging his alleged mistakes with HYBE's management.
