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On November 14, 2024, Yonhap News reported that Min Hee-jin notified HYBE Corporation, ADOR's parent company, that she would exercise her rights to sell back her shares before the stipulated period. Currently, she holds around 26 billion KRW, or approximately $18.47 million, in shares of ADOR.
For the unversed, a "put option" in a shareholders agreement gives a shareholder the contractual right to sell their shares back to the company at an established price within a given time frame. This provides the shareholder with a guaranteed exit strategy and allows them to dispose of their investment at a set value, or an amount determined by a formula, regardless of the shares' current market price.
To calculate the put option, the period of 2022 to 2023 is taken as ADOR's base year. In 2023, ADOR's operating profit was 33.5 billion KRW ($23.8 million). However, the label was in a [negative] -4 billion KRW ($2.3 million) operating loss in 2022.
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Meanwhile, Yonhap News reported that by exercising her put option, Min Hee-jin could receive a payment for 75% of the ADOR shares she owns—which is 573,160 shares or 18% as HYBE owns the remaining 80%. If 75% of her 18% shares get multiplied by ADOR's average operating profit from 2023 by 13 times, the amount would stand around $18.47 million.
NewJeans demanded the reinstatement of Min Hee-jin as ADOR's CEO in their certified letter
In April 2024, HYBE reported Min Hee-jin to the police for allegedly trying to seize control of ADOR and breach of trust. She filed an injunction in May 2024, to stop HYBE from firing her, which was granted by the court. However, on August 27, 2024, she was dismissed by ADOR's board of directors independently.
NewJeans, the only K-pop idol group under ADOR, held a YouTube livestream and demanded HYBE to reinstate Min Hee-jin as the label head by September 25, 2024. However, the board of directors rejected their request. Later, on October 17, 2024, she was re-hired as the inside director of the label.
On November 13, IS PLUS News reported that NewJeans sent a certified letter to the company demanding the same thing. They stated that they would terminate their contract with HYBE and ADOR if their demands weren't accepted before November 28. They said:
“Let (former) CEO Min Hee-jin take charge of ADOR's management and New Jeans’ production like before. Return ADOR to the time when New Jeans was happy and joyful after signing an exclusive contract until March 2024. If ADOR does not accept the corrective action request, we will terminate our exclusive contract.”
ADOR stated that they are reviewing the letter and will try to solve it as soon as possible.
