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The escalating legal battle between former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and a former employee alleging workplace s*xual harassment has taken a new turn. Sports Chosun reported on December 13, 2024, that the case has now been referred to mediation by a court committee, signaling an attempt to resolve the dispute without a full-blown trial.
Mediation in legal contexts is a voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral mediator facilitates discussions between disputing parties to help them reach a mutually acceptable resolution. Unlike a court judgment, mediation focuses on collaboration and avoids adversarial litigation. The court's referral to mediation suggests to settle without further damage to the reputations of both parties.
On December 13, 2024, Sports Chosun reported that the Seoul Western District Court's 51st decided in favor of the victim through mediation. The victim is entitled to damages worth 100 million won (around $69,759.85).
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The controversy began in March 2024 when a former ADOR employee accused Min Hee-jin of mishandling her workplace s*xual harassment claims against an executive. The victim claimed that Min Hee-jin sided with the accused executive, downplaying the allegations and failing to take adequate action. The case took momentum in August 2024 ahead of Min Hee-jin's termination as ADOR's CEO.
Background of the former ADOR employee's s*xual harassment case & Min Hee-jin's retaliation
On August 27, 2024, Asian Junkie reported that the employee accused Min Hee-jin of workplace harassment, citing over 70 pressuring and offensive messages from the former ADOR CEO on messaging platforms like KakaoTalk.
The former ADOR CEO, in her defense, argued that these were routine work-related communications. She accused the employee of being an incompetent performer who retaliated because her salary was reduced.
The former ADOR CEO publicly released parts of her chat history with the employee to support her stance. However, this move backfired as the victim responded by filing lawsuits against her for defamation and violating her privacy under the Labor Standards Act and the Information Protection Act.
The victim also filed complaints against the accused executive for inappropriate behavior, claiming to have provided evidence of multiple harassment incidents via her secondary Instagram account (@202408bbbbb). As translated by Koreaboo, the victim wrote in her post:
"However, I cannot tolerate CEO Min Hee Jin anymore for only having defended Executive A while having been abusive in her language and behavior towards the employees working for her. She also went public with the KakaoTalk messages without any consent, in the sole interest of revealing her own grievances."
Initially, the executive apologized but later retracted the apology, leading to further disputes, as per Hindustan Times' report on August 17. Following these events, the case was sent to a court-led mediation committee, where both sides will negotiate to settle the matter outside of court. Mediation allows for a faster resolution and avoids the drawn-out procedures of formal trials.
The former employee has accused the former ADOR CEO of actively attempting to silence her. The former ADOR CEO's public release of chat messages was particularly controversial, as it violated workplace ethics and privacy laws. She argued that the chats were necessary to defend her reputation, but the victim believes this was a calculated effort to undermine her credibility and intimidate her.
The workplace harassment allegations led to significant fallout for Min Hee-jin. She was initially dismissed from her role as ADOR's CEO in August 2024, with the company citing internal restructuring as the reason. Min Hee-jin, however, alleged that her removal was abrupt and unilateral, hinting at tensions with HYBE, ADOR's parent company.
Despite her dismissal, Min Hee-jin was rehired as an internal director at ADOR on October 17 and maintained her position as the creative producer for NewJeans. On November 20, 2024, she resigned from ADOR and HYBE after months of public scrutiny, legal disputes, and stakeholder pressure over her role in the controversy.
The s*xual harassment case by the former ADOR employee was re-opened by the new ADOR CEO, Kim Joo-young, in September 2024. The new management stated that it wanted to uncover if Min Hee-jin tried to bury the reported s*xual misconduct case during her tenure as ADOR's CEO.
In other news, ADOR's only K-pop group, NewJeans, announced the termination of their contract with the label mid-way through their tenure on November 28, 2024. They cited unmet demands, alleged company mistreatment, and the firing of Min Hee-jin as the label's CEO as some of their grievances.
