Ador CEO Min Hee-jin suggests finding agreement with Hybe

During an extraordinary general meeting of Ador on Friday, Hybe dismissed two inside directors on the side of Min Hee-jin, who is the CEO of Ador, and appointed its three executives as new directors. With the changes, Min is isolated as Ador’s board of directors consists of three figures from Hybe and one from Ador. Min held a press conference on the same day and suggested that Hybe find an agreement as they “exchanged punches.”

Two inside directors on Min’s side were dismissed, which was somewhat expected as Hybe has 80 percent of Ador’s stake, and an injunction request to the court only applies to Min. With the new shift in the board of directors, Min has been facing a rather uncomfortable situation with three inside directors on the Hybe side for a while. There are concerns that conflicts between the two sides on important matters that require the board of directors’ decisions may negatively impact NewJeans, who recently made a comeback.

“(The scandal about a takeover of management rights) was not a fight I picked. We had endless arguments. Now, we should set aside our emotions and move on to the next chapter for everybody’s sake,” said Min in a yellow jacket with a bright smile during a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul. She also said that her desire to stay in the CEO position has not changed and that there are some parts of the court’s decision that Hybe must accept, suggesting making compromises.

“As they are part of Ador now, I believe they will handle work in a way that does not commit malpractice to Ador,” said Min to a question asking whether she would be able to work with the next inside directors from Hybe. “If they wish to further develop Ador and have a vision for NewJeans, they will work with me well.”

Hybe did not make any statement regarding Min’s suggestion for a dialogue. An investigation is underway as Hybe accused Min of professional malpractice to the police.


Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com