Min Hee-jin's legal battle against HYBE continues as court accepts new data until October 25

On Friday, October 11, HYBE's charges against Min Hee-jin, which involved allegations of betrayal and breach of duty, were unfolded by the 50th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court. According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, the court has scheduled a new date for both parties to submit new evidence, which is October 25. The news agency reported that the court said HYBE and Min Hee-jin had been repeating the same arguments since their first injunction on May 30, 2024.

The court discussed the reinstation of these arguments as repetitive and said:

“Both parties are repeating the content of the May 30 injunction case. It is quite frankly a waste of precious time to make the case."

The media agency also reported that the hearing involved the two parties sharing 20 minutes worth of arguments regarding whether HYBE's termination of their shareholders' contract with Min Hee-jin was valid. While the label expressed that it was valid since the former ADOR CEO previously showcased a breach of trust and duty, Min argued that it was illegal and in direct violation of the shareholders' contract to terminate it.

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the court will make a ruling by the end of October after reviewing any new data submitted on the new hearing date.

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All you need to know about the court hearing on HYBE and Min Hee-jin's charges against each other on breach of duty and betrayal

As per IS Plus, Min Hee-jin kickstarted her arguments by explaining that HYBE's accusations against her, where they terminated the shareholders' contract due to her acts of betrayal, were allegedly unfair and failed to stand true.

"HYBE claims that Min Hee-jin’s actions destroyed the trust relationship, but in fact, she was faithfully acting in accordance with the shareholder agreement, raising legitimate concerns about unfair treatment and plagiarism allegations. This cannot be deemed illegal."

Her side further criticized the terms on which the label terminated the contract. Since the label named it a breach of trust, the exact details and definitions of trust were unveiled. If the trust was based on NewJeans' performance, Min Hee-jin's side advocated that the group's growth was not tampered with during her role as their CEO.

Therefore, she argued that the contract couldn't be terminated for vague reasons. Her lawyers also pointed out the various alleged all-out campaigns against the former ADOR CEO. On the other hand, HYBE reiterated that they only terminated the contract based on a breach of trust, which was reportedly agreed upon by the court:

“The court already acknowledged in the previous injunction that the trust relationship was broken due to Min’s betrayal. Accordingly, we terminated the shareholder agreement and have filed a suit to confirm the termination of her authority.”

On the other hand, Min Hee-jin also advocated for her reinstatement as ADOR's CEO, which NewJeans also requested through their emergency YouTube livestream. However, ADOR responded that the demand can't be met. While HYBE argued that Hee-jin still stands as the internal director of ADOR and NewJeans, her lawyers responded that this was not the agreed-upon clause.

“Although ADOR claims they offered a five-year extension to handle NewJeans’ production, there was no genuine offer to remove the toxic clauses from the original contract. Their so-called compromise is nothing more than wordplay.”

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Regardless, the dispute that began on April 22, 2024, will reportedly be resolved by the court by the end of October 2024.