If this thread is tl;dr for you (which it is) ...
Original news broken by soshixbang
REMINDER
I know its frustrating that others do not see things the way you do, but I'd like to remind everyone that this is not a battle and you are not soldiers. You are debating an issue on a forum board. Having different opinions should not bleed into threats or accusations of serious -isms. I think you know what those are, but if you need a refresher, here are the rules. On such a hot button issue, please try to think twice before posting and once again, remember that you are talking to people.
Please especially refrain from attacking and generalizing either idols, users or an entire fandom because of your position on this issue. Address the arguments.
Latest NewJeans release:
MHJ 2 hour press conference:
English transcript:
English subbed:
Original full:
Complete timeline by ItsActuallyMe
Current: May 31, 2024 10:05AM Pacific | Updated as details emerge
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Timeline of significant events based on media reports
2023
April 25 – Ador’s board of directors is reorganized. Hybe personnel are replaced with MHJ loyalists such as Vice President Shin Dong-Hoon and Chief Creative Director Kim Ye-min.
May 19 – MHJ and other Ador executives receive 20% of the shares in Ador from Hybe for long term retention and motivational reasons.
End of 2023 – Hybe receives reports that MHJ is meeting with investors to seek independence with NewJeans. Hybe ignores it for now.
December 9 - Hybe CEO Park Ji-won encourages MHJ to talk to "that analyst guy" for advice regarding the issues she has with her shareholder contract, and furthemore states "I won't stop you", and "make your own decisions". (Based on kakaochat transcipts shared by Ador on May 16)
December 12 - Hybe CEO Park Ji-won and MHJ have anothe kakaochat conversation about her shareholder contract. MHJ confronts Park Ji-won with the fact that after reanalyzing hher current shareholder contract she realized it has speicfic clauses that could lead to a liftetime non-competitive ban for her. MHJ considers the answers Park Ji-won gives her as excuses as he tells her "I don't read all contracts." MHJ contends this was a major breakdown of trust between her and Park Ji-won. (Based on kakaochat transcipts shared by Ador on May 16)
December 2023 - Breakdown of negotiations occurs between MHJ and Hybe regarding her shareholder agreement. Said to be the main root of the conflict. They disagree on the non-competition clause and the revision of the put-option on MHJ's Ador shares. It is believed if Hybe can prove their accusations against MHJ in court, then they could reacquire MHJ's Ador shares at a price well below market value.
2024
January 24 - Ador's VP Lee (who back then was still head of Hybe's IR team) has a meeting with investment firm N Capital to discuss Ador's IPO plan.
February 2024 - “Mr. Lee” who worked at Hybe’s financial department (IR Team Leader) moves to Ador and becomes a close associated of MHJ and received a Vice President position.
February 4 - MHJ in a kakoatalk chat states that it is "one year before BTS returns. Hybe is vulnerable. Let's end Hybe and Bang Si-hyuk during this period" * info shared by reporter Lee Jin-ho
MHJ in a kakaotalk chat with VP Lee says they eventually will have to go to the press and have to prepare for how they get out of it when they get caught. She suggests meeting X reported that was introduced by Analyst X. VP answers that his goal for February is to create solidary outside of the country and to bring out the capabilities of the Ador organization * info shared by TV Daily
February 7 - Ador's VP Lee starts to review Ador's management leveraged buyout and IPO plan with external lawyers.
February 16 - MHJ delivered a revised version of the shareholder agreement to Hybe requesting that she receive the right to take actions over contracts at Ador, including NewJeans' contract, by herself. Hybe rejects the proposal.
Early 2024 – Hybe receives a tip that MHJ is planning to take over Ador in collaboration with a private equity fund. Hybe is said to have tried to quietly resolve the issue with MHJ but failed.
March 6 - MHJ has a dinner with officials from Naver and Dunamu. According to MHJ this was just a private event unrelated to investment, but Hybe argues it was part of MHJ's plan to receive investment to move Ador/NewJeans out of Hybe.
March 14/15 - MHJ and VP Lee in a kakaotalk chat discuss the possibility and cost of terminating newjeans' contract. VP lee after revealing the enormous cancellation penalty, states "I think having members withdraw would cause too much damage to us" * info shared by reporter Lee Jin-ho
In that same kakaotalk chat, MHJ says that the cost of taking NewJeans out of Hybe will exceed the 800 billion won suggested by VP. MHJ believes that it will surpass 1 trillion won as Hybe will include future value calculations *info shared by TV Daily
March 18 - MHJ and VP Lee in a kakotalk chat talk about keeping things as "saddam" (=private talk). MHJ states that "this has to be saddam" to which VP lee responds, "it started right from the beginning. This is just a private conversation" * info shared by reporter Lee Jin-ho
VP Lee has a kakoatalk conversation with a CEO from a management/investment company. He asks the CEO if he knows the chairman of company --- Finance. The CEO says he doesn't know that person but that the name "is strong" and that he thinks "this person has money there". VP replies that the person "is going to be a candidate lol" * info shared by TV Daily
March 19 - MHJ and VP in a kakaotalk chat discuss investment options. VP Lee names the company G----- Investment Administration and says "that this place is very interested in K-entertainment". He further shares that finding a financial investor will be easier than finding a strategic investor. VP Lee also shares that he has been told that cases exist "where a small shareholder who actually runs the company breaks through the checks of the parent company of the major shareholder and established himself as the actual owner of the company". VP Lee adds that "the most important thing is the will not to be taken away" * info shared by TV Daily
March 23 – VP Lee writes a report setting out plans for Ador’s independence
March 25 – Illit debuts
March 26 - NewJeans announce comeback and future plans
March 29 – VP Lee writes another report setting out plans for Ador’s independence.
MHJ and VP Lee have another kakaotalk conversation wherein they discuss sending the first email complaint on April 4th. First MHJ states that she "feels like changing my plans" and that "the attack will begin by sending the first email on April 4th". She further says that "There's no need to delay if we're going to move on to the second round anyway. So let's attack and prepare for public opinion war. April 20th we will disregard any suggestions for mediation of our problems. Raising the issue publicly is our goal. The best case is if Hybe suggests a compromise to prevent a catastrophe" *info shared by reporter Lee Jin-ho
Bang Si-Hyuk, Park Ji-won, and Scooter Braun reappointed as directors on Hybe's board.
March 30 - MHJ and VP Lee have a kakaotalk conversation wherein they further discuss sending the first email complaint on April 4th. MHJ asks VP Lee if he "wrote it from the mother's perspective" to which VP Lee responds "yes". MHJ also asks if "there is anything related to hybe in [newjeans'] exclusive contract". VP Lee answers that "there is nothing related to hybe. It's a contract between Ador and the artist." MHJ responds "Hehehe" and ends by asking if "there are any provisions to raise an objection" *info shared by Chosun Biz
MHJ and representative K from Ador discuss the filing of the complaint in a kakaotalk chat. K shares that he/she thinks it won't "be a good image for the families to intervene in any way, and thinks it would be better to first make more public opinion and then publicize it." MHJ replies that it could lead to issue if they as Ador executives initiate the complaint so the parents have to do it *info shared by TV Daily
March 31 - NewJeans' parents send an email to MHJ covey their complaints about mistreatment of the group by Hybe. They ask MHJ to share the email with Hybe. In the email, the parents share their concern about the similarities between Illit and Newjeans that they view as intended imitations, aggrevated by the fact that Belift hired somebody whose previous working experience in the industry only includes newjeans. The parents convey that they and the members are suffering mentally and feel helpless seeing all the comparisons being made between the two groups. The parents also bring up the issue of chairman Bang Si-Hyuk ignoring the members when they encountered each other at the company, even failing to greet them. Lastly, they point at Hybe's supposed broken promises in the past to be their first girl group, which ended up being Le Sserafim instead. The parents describe the situation as a "nightmare" back then, with one member even contemplating giving up on debuting. They demand a response and corrective action from Hybe.
End of March - Internal document written by VP Lee are discovered which set out plans to prevent Hybe from touching Ador and ultimately escape completely. He also downloaded a large amount of confidential information.
March/April - VP Lee holds meetings with investment firm A Finance to receive financial investment for Ador. During the same period, MHJ reportedly met with Dunamu, a major shareholder of Hybe, and officials from Naver, a partner of Hybe, and proposed the acquisition of Ador. Both companies reported this to Hybe without further discussion with MHJ.
April 3 - Ador sends the email from NewJeans' parents to Hybe and Belift together with their own comments. Ador states that as the rights holder of NewJeans IP they are equally displead with the Illit rights infringment. They accuse Hybe of benchmarking NewJeans' success to the point that they relied on the similarities perceived by the media and the public to go viral. Ador considers it as the parent company's tyranny against its subsidiary.
Ador's executives (CEO MHJ, VP Shin, VP Lee, director Yemin) according to Hybe further discuss the role of Hybe's stock in the conflict. VP Lee is quoted stating "if we go to trail, the stock price will go down, so minority shareholders will say things like they want to file a lawsuit..." and that Hybe will suffer as a lisited company if these types of people join her."
April 4 - MHJ is said to have held a conversation in a chat room with Ador executives about using her put option in January 2025, intentionally lower Ador's value to turn it into an 'empty shell', and having investors ready to take over Hybe's shares in Ador.
April 7 - Document named 'Hybe's 7 sins' is written by MHJ/VP Lee. The sins include Illit's plagiarism accusations, issue of unfair shareholder contract, album sales pushing, newjeans debut delayed and interference in debut promotions, unfair treatment regarding lack of PR and lack of greeting by Bang Si-hyuk, and lastly bias sharing (Weverse Magazine editor Kang Myeongseok's gaslighting) *info shared by reporter Lee Jin-ho
April 8 - VP Shin signs a contract to lease a new house
April 15 - VP Shin sells all his 950 shares of Hybe stock for 203.87 million won.
April 15/16 - Illit's song Magnetic debuts on Billboard's Hot100 chart.
April 16 - Hybe sends a response to Ador regarding the internal complaint. MHJ resends the internal complaint made on April 3 around the same time to Hybe CEO Park Ji-Won, Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk, and Hybe America’s CEO Scooter Braun with additional complaints. She requests to receive a statement by April 23st
Full text of MHJ's 2nd email can be found here:
“밀어내기 제안”…민희진, 하이브 방만 경영윤리 내부고발 했었다 [전문]
m.entertain.naver.com
April 17 - A meeting between a foreign investor and Ador management is said to have been held on this day. An analyst from a foreign financial security firm would have organized the meeting with the investor who initially visited Korea for an investment meeting with Hybe (which he held after the meeting with Ador).
April 18 - Ador's executives (CEO MHJ, VP Shin, VP Lee, director Yemin) according to Hybe once again discuss the role of Hybe's stock in the conflict. VP Lee is quoted stating "Fair Trade Commission -> Public Opinion -> Litigation", and "the way to avoid getting blood on your hands is the Fair Trade Commission -> Spill on reporters -> Stock price plummet -> Make minority shareholders file lawsuits."
April 20 - MHJ and VP Lee in a Kakaotalk convo talk about sending a report to the Fair Trade Commission but that newjeans' moms should initiate it as it would be problematic for Ador as a subsidiary to do it on their own. *info shared by Chosun Biz
MHJ in a Kakaotalk chat also states regarding the Fair Trade Commission that "whether they will investigate 'it' or not, whether it is fuzzy or not" doesn't really matter as "there's already a wave of [album] pushing issues. It's going to work, and the world will be turned upside down". MHJ then adds that "the best thing is that Hybe comes in and offers a compromise to prevent such big bad news" *info shared by TV Daily
April 22 – Hybe sends a response to the 2nd email send by MHJ regarding the internal complaint at 10am. MHJ reads the response around 12am.
Hybe starts an internal audit of Ador in the afternoon which shortly after is shared with the media. Hybe releases a statement accusing MHJ and Ador’s executives of trying to break free from Hybe. Hybe also suspects Mr. A of transferring sensitive financial information such as artists contract details from Hybe to Ador and possible external actors. MHJ publishes a first response accusing Hybe of damaging the NewJeans brand through Illit’s plargisim. Later MHJ releases another statement rejecting Hybe’s accusation.
Full text of Hybe's reponse can be found here:
하이브, 민희진 주장 반박… "음반 밀어내기 안 한다" [전문]
m.entertain.naver.com
April 23 – Hybe CEO Park Ji-Won sends out a company notice regarding the audit stressing that business will continue as usual. Mr. A described as Ador’s VP comes forward saying that the plans to get Ador out of hybe were only his personal thoughts and have nothing to do with MHJ.
April 24 - MHJ hands in the audit questionaire to Hybe but witholds from giving them her laptop and specific documents. Ador demands MHJ's answers are kept secret otherwise they'll take legal action
MHJ also gives a short statement to KBS accusing Hybe of "discriminating between subsidaries for a long time, and that the core of the conflict is that artists have suffered damage"
Hybe is said to have started an internal audit into its other subsidaries as well
Protest truck send by anonymous NewJeans fans to the Hybe building, conveying that they support NewJeans under Hybe and demand MHJ to "no longer use NewJeans and their family", and to "stop slandering other artists"
April 25 - The mothers of three NewJeans member hold a meeting with Hybe executives including CEO Park Ji-won. Park Ji-won shares with them what MHJ did wrong according to Hybe. The mothers stress however that all the parents want NewJeans with MHJ. The parents also bring up the issue of Bang Si-hyuk ignoring the members again. The executives response to them is that they misunderstoof because Bang Si-hyuk might have 'facial recognition impairment'. Hybe also tells them that they will give the newjeans members a long vacation after their Japanese fanmeet in June Additionally Hybe shares they are looking for a 'grammy winning producer' as replacement which would take about a 1 year and 6 months but they're trying to get one as quickly as possible. The mothers leave the meeting wondering if that means NewJeans vacation/hiatus will be that long.
Hybe releases the results of the internal audit, officially accusing MHJ of leading the attempt to seize management rights of Ador
Hybe releases parts of transcribed conversations MHJ has held with a Shaman who is a close friend of hers which include controversial discussions about BTS's military service and detailed advice on Ador's management
MHJ holds a two hour long press conference to reveal her side of the story. She berates Hybe's accusations of seizing management rights as being groundless, and with the help of Kakao chats reveals the complicated history of her relationship with Hybe, specifically its CEO Park Ji-won and Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk. According to MHJ they have mistreated NewJeans by repeatedly privileging other groups such as Le Sserafim and Illit. She further details how the upset NewJeans members and their parents have offered their support and comfort to her
Hybe releases a statement declaring MHJ's remarks aren't worthy of a response and stresses that it is focused on giving the NewJeans members the help and support they need | Hybe files a criminal complaint with the police against MHJ and Ador Vice President Shin Dong-Hoon
April 26 - NewJeans releases a music video for their comeback song 'Bubblegum'
Hybe responds to MHJ's press conference. Hybe reaffirms its accusations against MHJ, stressing their evidence shows there is clear intent to move Ador out of Hybe. Hybe also rejects MHJ's accusation that they mistreated NewJeans by highlighting they provided Ador with extensive funds from the beginning. Hybe also points out that they have released a great amount of press releases for NewJeans that matches or exceeds the amount other Hybe groups have received. Lastly Hybe accuses MHJ of using NewJeans as 'hostages' to blackmail the company.
April 27 - Hybe is attempting to contact NewJeans parents but according to MHJ the parents are not willing to respond
April 28 - MHJ replies that the meeting scheduled for the 30th won't take place. Hybe, in anticipation this, had applied to the court for permission to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 25th. The hearing to decide this will take place on April 30th @ 4:35PM KST.
April 30 - An Ador shareholder meeting will be held at which Hybe is said to demand to resignation of MHJ. The meeting can only be held if Ador's board of directors attend, otherwise Hybe will have to hold the meeting in court which will take around two months to be organized.
May 2 - Reports come out about MHJ's demand from February to receive the right to take actions over contracts at Ador including the exclusive contract of NewJeans by herself. Hybe suspects that this is in line with the transcripts they found of a plan to make Ador 'an empty shell'
Ador releases a statement refuting the reports about MHJ's demand, saying the inentions behind the request were purely to safeguard Ador's independence and prevent a repeat of interferences that they believed happened during NewJeans debut process
Ador releases another lenghty statement refuting several of the media reports that came out in the previous days. Ador reiterates that Hybe's audit is groundless and illegal and is further an infringement of privacy and human rights as Hybe revealed Kakao chats to the public on Aprill 22. Ador also refutes that MHJ was driven by financial desires, emphasizing that the reported 30x multiplier on the put option that MHJ demanded was not a priority but was based on the potential of debuting a boygroup. Ador concludes the statememt by stressing that Hybe's actions over the last week have damaged NewJeans brand and that Hybe should stop its public trail of MHJ and use common sense to allow Ador to focus on its own management
Park Ji-won apologizes to Hybe's shareholders in an earning calls about the damage the events of the last week have caused.
May 7 - MHJ files a provisional injunction to ban Hybe from using its voting rights to oust her during the general shareholder meeting. She states that Hybe firing her would violate her shareholder contract and hurt the corporate value of Ador and its artists.
May 9 - Hybe audits Ador's styling team leader on suspicions of embezzlement and breach of trust.
VP Lee withdraws his consent to provide further information and the use of it.
May 10 - Ador board meeting is held. The board agrees to hold a general shareholder meeting on May 31
The board also makes a statement that Hybe 'illegally' audited Ador's styling team leader for suspicions of embezzlement and breach of trust on May 9. Hybe believes the team leader received unreported payments for newjeans' activities from advertisement companies instead of received the payments for from Ador. Ador rejects this accusation as according to them there was no financial damage for Ador and that this type of contractual relationship is common in the industry. They also stress that it was already shared with Hybe's HR and ER department in February. They further accuse the auditor of abusing its authority by unreasonably pressuring and coercing the team leader at her home to hand over her company laptop and personal mobile phone
Hybe rejects Ador's statement on the audit by stressing that the audit was conducted legally and with the consent and cooperation of the styling team leader. Hybe says that the team leader admitted to receiving 100s of millions of won worth of money and materials from an outsourcing company with the approval of MHJ for several years. According to Hybe this is a clear illegality as they payments should have been recognized as official company sales. Hybe also reveals a transcript of a Kakaotalk conversation between CEO Min Hee-jin (nickname *) and vice-presidents L and S on February 18, 2024. Hive side claimed that this “confirms that the team leader’s receipt of money was done with CEO Min’s approval,” and that “Adore management conspired to use Hive as an excuse to solve the problem.”
Lastly, Hybe contends that MHJ's reporting the internal audit of May 9 in a misrepresented manner to the public defames the company and that they will take civil and criminal action against her for it
Hybe and Ador each release one more rebuttal that basically repeats their arguments.
May 12 - A mother of one of the NewJeans members gives a phone call interview to a media outlet that will be published the next day
May 13 - The email send by Ador to Hybe on March 31 conveying NewJeans parents' complaints about mistreatment of the group is made public. Hybe responds by declaring that the accusation of Bang Si-Hyuk ignoring NewJeans' members is a false, one-sided claim, and that the email in general is part of MHJ's scheme to seize management rights and pursue private interests.
The phone call interview from a mother of one of the NewJeans members that was held on May 12 is published. Hybe responds to it by saying that the mentioned vacation during the meeting held on April 25 is not the supposed to be interpreted as the 1 year and 6 month period they would need to get a new producer on board. According to Hybe it should be interpreted as the intention to take special care of NewJeans to support them to become great artists. Hybe ends their statement by reiterating that MHJ is using NewJeans and their parents to inflame public sentiment for her own greed, and that they have sufficient evidence against MHJ that will be revealed in court.
NewJeans choreographers express on their instagram accounts their anger about Illit's choreography plagirazing NewJeans' choreography
May 14 - According to the investment banking industry Hybe plans to submit a petititon to the Financial Supervisory Service requiring an investigation into VP Shin and other Ador executives including MHJ on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, such as spreading false information that Illit plagiarized NewJeans in order to negatively affect the stock price, causing damage to investors through market manipulation. Hybe accuses VP Shin of insider trading as the VP all his 950 shares of Hybe stock for 203.87 million on April 15, which was the day before Ador sent a 2nd email to Hybe. Hybe reveals additional transcripts of Kakaochat conversations between Ador executives that would show VP Shin were actively engaging in insider trading.
Ador releases a statement refuting Hybe's allegation about insider trading. Ador states that VP Shin sold its shares to pay a downpayment for a house he leased on April 8. Ador supplies VP Shin's contract for the leased house to prove that there was no intent of insider trading. Ador reiterates that Hybe is the one responsible for the whole conflict and the failure to revolve it internally, and that the kakaochat messages only should be seen as possible countermeasures if Hybe did not accept the internal complant about Illit's plagiarism issue. Ador accusess Hybe of cleverly editing provocative words without explaining the exact context which misleads public opinion.
Hybe also requests the Financial Supervisory Service to investigate an analyst from a foreign security who is said to have organized the meeting between Ador and an investor on April 17. Hybe discovered kakaochat discussions between VP Lee and MHJ where the VP is quoted stating "As for the value of Adore, based on current standards, it is 1.4%. They reported things like 'If it’s trillion won, they want to invest right away.'” Hybe believes the analyst served as a de facto advisor who provided review opinions regarding the seize of Ador's management rights, proposed conditions for revising MHJ's shareholder contract with Hybe (including the put option), and arranged meetings with foreign investors to sell Ador shares. Hybe discovered that VP Lee relayed matters discussed by Ador management to the analyst, then received review opinions and reported them to MHJ. Hybe also is said to accuse the analyst of proposing specific action plans, including civil and criminal measures against Hybe and its labels, which resulted in business losses and loss of reputation for the company and its artists.
NewJeans' parents hire lawyer Kang Jin-seok who specializes in entertainment disputes. He helps them file the petition of the newjeans members for the injunction (He'll later deny reports that he was hired to potentially help with newjeans' contract termination)
May 16 - Ador releases a response to Hybe's request of an investigation into the role of an financial analyst in MHJ's plans to supposedly usurp management rights. Ador stresses that the analyst did provide any review opinions related to the seizure of management rigths, something that would be impossible without the consent of major shareholders. The meeting with an investor described by Hybe according to Ador was just a meeting of multiple listed/unlisted companies organized by the analyst to attract domestic K-culture investment. VP Lee did have lunch together with them before the Hybe investment meeting, but according to Ador it had nothing to do with the sale of Ador as it was just a general coversation about Ador's publicy announced 2023 financial performance. Ador further reveals that VP Lee and the analyst held a meeting with CEO Park Ji-won And Hybe IR Team leader k after the lunch meeting. Ador also shares that it was Park Ji-won who encouraged MHJ to get external advice on the issues she had with her shareholder contract as Ador did not have its own legal and fianncial organization to review it. MHJ therefore asked the analyst who was her long-time acquaintance to review the conctract based on publicly available information. Lastly, Ador states that it is clear that Hybe's first goal is to dismiss CEO MHJ and at the same time ruin her reputation, and that they will report Hybe's auditor to the audit committee.
Hybe rebutes Ador's statement by expressing that such detailed conversations with investment industry workers cannot procced if it was just private talk over management rights. Hybe accuses MHJ of deceving the entire nation as she stated duribng the press conference on April 25 that she had never met any investors. Hybe contends MHJ's lies are being revealed one by one through evidence and fact, and the expect the wrongdoings to be clear to investigative agencies and courts. Lastly, Hybe urges MHJ to stop making her personal statements through the company Ador as the theft of management rights is an indicent caused by MHJ's personal greed, and has nothing to with Ador as a company.
May 17 – Injunction hearing is held regarding MHJ’s request to ban Hybe from using its shareholders right during the general shareholder meeting on May 31. The court allows each side to deliver more information until May 24 and will make a decision before the shareholder meeting. The details of each side’s arguments are shared with the media. Additional information not disclosed in court by Hybe or MHJ is also shared with media.
Summary of the arguments held in court + additional info shared with the media:
MHJ’s arguments
MHJ’s lawyers argue that the injunction is needed because MHJ’s dismissal will cause irreparable damage not only to herself but also to NewJeans, Ador, and Hybe. They emphasize that NewJeans success was “not only because of the efforts of the members, but also because of MHJ’s excellent production sense and deep connection with the members.” The lawyers further state that MHJ’s shareholder contract with Hybe stipulates that she has to maintain her position as CEO of Ador for five years.
MHJ’s lawyers reject that there was any attempt to change the governance structure of Ador or the usurp management rights.
MHJ’s lawyers reiterate that Hybe broke their promises regarding NewJeans becoming Hybe’s first girl groups, which Le Sserafim became instead. They also reaffirm that Bang Si-hyuk did not greet the NewJeans members, which is supported by messages sent by each member who state that it was true that they did not receive greetings from him.
MHJ’s lawyers also point out that Hybe recently mentioned a ‘long vacation’ for NewJeans in a meeting with their parents. According to the lawyers, the members and their parents cannot help but feel fear. They further state that NewJeans themselves say that they should work with MHJ, showing the important role of MHJ, which is also acknowledged by NewJeans fans.
MHJ’s lawyers state that they “did not expect that Hybe would claim grounds for disqualification by even citing shamanic managements,” and added, “it was a serious infringmenet of personal secrets to criticize him through a conversation with an acquaintance held before the establishment of Ador.
MHJ’s lawyers regarding the plagiarism controversy by Illit said that “regardless of whether it was legally plagiarized, it cannot be denied that it is too similar, and experts also point this out.”
Hybe’s arguments
Hybe’s lawyer argues they should be able to exercise voting rights because MHJ’s shareholder contract stipulates that she can be asked to resign if she causes damage of more than 1 billion won to Ador or commits illegal acts such as breach of trust or embezzlement, and that in that case a contractual obligation isn’t relevant.
Hybe’s lawyers refute that they broke any promises or mistreated NewJeans. They state that “CEO MHJ first conveyed that she does not care about the order of debut, and after receiving coaching from a shaman, she decided the timing of NewJeans’ debut. The lawyers reveal that MHJ in a kakaotalk chat said, “Let’s all Bang Si-hyuk’s girl groups fail, and we will appear last like the main characters.”
Hybe’s lawyers accuse MHJ of using NewJeans as a shield. According to them MHJ’s interest is not in NewJeans itself, but the money NewJeans earns. The lawyers reveal additional Kakaotalk chats wherein MHJ states to a close associate that “it’s hard to treat the NewJeans members as artists...it’s terrible to put up with them and support them. NewJeans success is because of me, not NewJeans.”
Hybe’s lawyers additionally claim that MHJ gaslighted the NewJeans members with the goal of wanting them to become mentally subordinate to her, and packages it as a ‘mother-daughter relationship’. Hybe points out that MHJ demand that NewJeans speak according to the script she had set out for them in external interviews.
Hybe lawyers accuse MHJ of shamanic management. They state that MHJ believes the shaman was possessed by her deceased sister. Hybe discovered that MHJ had as many as 58,000 kakaotalk conversations with the shaman in 6 months. These conversations were about the plan to seize management rights, which employees to hire, and a large amount of trade secrets were also leaked.
Hybe’s lawyers reveal that MHJ received a report of sexual harassment by VP Lee, but that MHJ failed to protect the person behind the report, instead she made derogatory remarks about women herself.
Hybe accuses MHJ of contacting the accountant in charge of BTS and try to sow distrust between them and Hybe with the end goal to have them leave together with Ador.
Hybe shares a petition to the court from Bang Si-Hyuk wherein he conveys his apologies that the conflict has “caused concern to many members of our society and the public.” He further states that “no matter how sophisticated the system or thorough contract is, no human malice can be completely prevented.” He hopes that the court will make a wise decision to dismiss the injunction.
Hybe’s side reveals to the media that MHJ met with officials from Naver and Dunamu, companies that have close relationships with Hybe, to propose the acquisition of Ador. MHJ is said to made remarks to a Danamu official “to pressure Hybe so Ador can leave”. The two companies believed that MHJ’s intentions were impure and reported the relevant facts to Hybe. Afterwards, during the audit, Hybe confirmed the circumstances of the attempt. Hybe discovered KakaoTalk logs on MHJ’s pc in which she states “Dunamu A doesn’t even understand what is being said” and that “Naver still understands it rather well.”
May 18 - Reporter/Youtube Lee Jin-ho reveals on a youtube live supposed transcripts of kakaotalk conversations between MHJ and VP Lee wherein they make degrading comments about newjeans and Ador employees
May 19 - MHJ releases a personal statement in reaction to Hybe's allegations made against her on the day of the injunction and to the kakaotalk chat transcripts revealed by reporter Lee Jin-ho on May 18. She first refutes that she met Naver and Dunamu officials to discuss the takeover of Ador as according to her it was just a private dinner unrelated to investment. MHJ again reiterates that Hybe illegally obtained information through the audit. Regarding the kakaotalk transcripts shared by Lee Jin-ho, MHJ states that Hybe misrepresented them through edits and they miss context of what she and MHJ have experienced together. She also makes clear that NewJeans still support her as all the members sent her text messages comforting her after the Kakaotalk chats were revealed. She concludes her statement by saying that she is sorry for the unavoidable noise and inconvenience that has been caused.
Hybe releases a response to MHJ statement wherein they again request MHJ to stop using NewJeans as a shield. They also accusae MHJ of obscuring the essence of the conflict through inflammatory words, actions, and emotional appeals. Hybe states that MHJ's conversational logs contain countless details about contacting investors and her intentions, and that Hybe has never edited any material and received the data through due process and submitted the original text. They stress that there is clear evidence of the attempt to takeover management rights, shamanic management, and disparaging remarks about female office workers and artists; serious grounds for disqualification as the CEO of Ador.
Reporter/Youtuber Lee Jin-ho releases one more supposed transcript of a Kakaotalk convo between MHJ and VP Lee wherein they discuss the option to terminate NewJeans contract and the potential consequences and cost of it.
May 20 - Police announces that they will question Hybe officials this week about the breach of trust complaint they filed against MHJ. The police commissioner states that they have completed analyzing all the submitted materials by Hybe and will continue the necessary procedures at a speedy pace
May 22 - Belift sues MHJ for defamation and obstruction of business. Belift states that they will present evidence to legal authorities to prove that the plagiarism suspicions against Illit are not true.
May 24 - NewJeans releases double single album 'How Sweet'
May 30 - MHJ's injunction against Hybe to ban the exercise of voting rights to remove her from Ador's CEO position is upheld. The court states that a more thorough examination of the evidence is needed for MHJ's dismissal as “based on the claims and materials submitted to date, the reason cited by Hybe for MHJ's resignation was not sufficiently explained." The court further conveys that it is clear that MHJ tried to weaken Hybe's control over Ador and NewJeans and pressure Hybe to sell Ador's shares, however, while "Representative Min’s actions may be treacherous toward Hive, it is difficult to say that they are a breach of trust toward Ador." The court determines that Hybe has to pay a 20 billion won fine to MHJ if they go against the verdict and still decide to fire her
MHJ's lawyers react to the verdict by stating that "the court judged that all of Hive's witch-hunting claims, which were indiscriminately spread through the media, were incorrect." They furthermore stress they plan to take action, including filing a complaint, against the spread of maliciously edited private kakaotalk conversations. Lastly, MHJ's lawyers state that following the verdict there is no reason for Ador's two inside directors to be dismissed. If Hybe still dismisses them, they view it as not respecting the court's verdict and there would be no justifiable reason for it
Hybe reacts to the verdict by stating that "out of respect for the court’s judgment, we will not exercise our voting rights in favor of the ‘dismissal of executive director Min Hee-jin’ at this extraordinary general meeting.” Hybe highlights that the court ruled that "CEO Hee-jin Min took NewJeans out of the scope of Hybe’s control or pressured Hive to sell Adore’s shares held by Hive, thus weakening Hive’s control over Ador. It is clear that Min Hee-jin was seeking a way to independently control Adore." Hybe states that they thus "plan to take follow-up procedures within the bounds of the law in the future."
May 31 - General Shareholder Meeting takes place. Hybe replaces Ador's two internal directors, VP Shin and Creative Director Kim, with 3 new directors, namely Kim Joo-young (Hybe's Chief Human Resources Officer), Lee Jae-sang (Hybe's Chief Strategy Officer), and Lee Kyeong-jun (Hybe's Chief Financial Officer). MHJ remains in her CEO position.
MHJ holds another press conference in response to the injunction and General Shareholder Meeting results. She conveys to Hybe that it's time to find a compromise. Main coverage of MHJ's press conference can be found in this article:
June 10 - Belift releases a 27-minute long video on their temporary youtube channel wherein several high-ranking Belift executives and creatives refute in detail MHJ's plagarism accusation's against Illit. Belift also announces they will file an additional civil suit against MHJ for damages to its artists, workers, and participating creators.
Link to Belift's video:
*reminder that these are not facts just reports from the media and the parties involved
Article:
Naver Article in Korean on the conflict
Korean News Outlet provides outcome of the injunction
