South Korean music executive Min Hee-jin has claimed that it was not her choice to leave her position as the CEO of K-pop agency ADOR.
Earlier today (August 27), ADOR announced in a statement that Min Hee-jin had stepped down as the CEO of the K-pop agency, which is notably home to popular girl group NewJeans. The announcement came amid a lengthy feud between Min and HYBE, which owns the majority of ADOR, over the control of the company.
However, two hours after ADOR’s announcement, Min claimed in a new statement to Korea JoongAng Daily that it was not her choice to step down as the CEO of the company. “The board made the decision regardless of the CEO’s wishes,” she said, calling the move “a grave violation of the shareholders’ contract”.
In ADOR’s initial statement, the K-pop agency also announced that Min would remain on the board of directors and continue to produce music for NewJeans. However, Min has pushed back on those claims, alleging that the move was not discussed with her prior and was instead a “unilateral decision”.
The K-pop agency has since addressed Min’s claims in a brand-new statement, released today evening. “The board meeting was held according to the law,” the company said. “The date was chosen out of the list that Min Hee-jin gave. Min took part in the meeting online and the board made the optimal decision for the future of ADOR and NewJeans.”
Prior to the statements today, the feud between Min and HYBE had notably cooled off in the past months, after a court ruled in favour of the music executive’s injunction to prevent HYBE from exercising its voting rights at a then-upcoming shareholder meeting on May 30.
Min subsequently retained her role as the CEO of ADOR following a board meeting on May 31. However, two of her “close aides” were reportedly dismissed and replaced by three C-suite executives officials from HYBE.