HYBE has rejected all of Min Hee Jin’s statements!
On the 26th of April, HYBE released an official statement addressing Min Hee Jin’s infamous press conference the day prior. Previously, they had chosen not to address it and said it was “not worthy of responding back to,” in a press release. However, HYBE has now changed their tone and chosen to respond to the allegations she made in the press conference.
They said, “In order to clarify the facts regarding Min Hee Jin’s remarks made at the press conference on the 25th, we would like to explain our official position for the protection of shareholder value and IP rights.”
First, regarding the claim that the takeover of management rights was a joke and gossip, HYBE stated, “There are records of discussions under the same purpose over several months in the minutes and work diaries. Gossip becomes a plan and its execution when a third-party intervention is involved.”
Furthermore, HYBE explained, “Moreover, the co-CEO who had the conversation is a certified public accountant with professional knowledge of corporate governance and has conducted numerous M&As and financial information of the company. The co-CEO had a position that could access all of the financial information of the company. The co-CEO even wrote in the work diary, ‘Ultimately, I will leave.’ This can by no means be considered a joke.”
In response to Min’s claim of low financial compensation, HYBE stated, “The precise incentive for Min’s performance in 2023 was 2 billion won [$1.45 million], and salary and long-term incentives are separately determined. This is the highest salary ranking among HYBE headquarters and its Korean subsidiaries. HYBE provided significant stock incentives on top of the salary. However, Min proposed an amount that the company could not accept, leading the conversation to an impasse.”
Regarding the claim that there was an immediate audit without a response to the internal whistleblower email, HYBE stated, “On April 22nd at 10:01 AM, we sent a detailed response consisting of six A4 pages. We have confirmed that Min read the response that day in the afternoon. However, Min has repeatedly claimed in the press release and press conference that ‘there was no response’.”
Regarding Min’s claim that they promised the debut of NewJeans as the first girl group of HYBE before changing it to LE SSERAFIM, HYBE explained, “NewJeans did not become HYBE’s first girl group because they strongly insisted on debuting them from their own separate label.”
HYBE further clarified, “HYBE respected Min’s opinion and transferred these members to ADOR against the opposition from Source Music, and even provided a substantial amount of 16 billion won in funding to debut NewJeans in the manner Min wanted. However, due to the company’s division and contract transfer, the debut schedule of NewJeans was inevitably delayed, unrelated to HYBE’s intention.”
Regarding the claim that HYBE controlled the promotion of NewJeans before the debut of LE SSERAFIM, HYBE stated, “Both teams’ debut periods followed each other, and there was insufficient time to promote each other adequately, so we set a minimum promotional period. In the case of LE SSERAFIM’s member Sakura, articles about ‘LE SSERAFIM’s transfer to HYBE’ had been pouring in even before the contract with HYBE. In such a situation, if we say that the debut team of ADOR is a ‘team composed only of rookies,’ there is a concern that it will expose the fact that Sakura is joining Source Music and information about the composition of NewJeans members.”
During the press conference, Min strongly opposed the concept of ‘shamanistic management’ and dismissed it as a personal acquaintance. In response, HYBE stated, “An external personnel who extensively intervenes in all aspects of management cannot be simply regarded as a friend. Undisclosed executive stock option quantities, records of the management takeover structure based on shamanistic proposals, and various management issues are being exchanged during conversations.”
Related: BREAKING: HYBE Announces ADOR Audit Results, Confirms Attempted Takeover, To Take Legal Action
Furthermore, HYBE stated, “We seriously regard the fact that important company information is indiscriminately exposed to external personnel, they intervene in decision-making processes, and receive recruitment solicitations.”
In response to the claim that HYBE did not value NewJeans during their comeback period, HYBE stated, “The side that started attacking the company through email around the time of NewJeans’ comeback is Min’s side. In the data obtained through forensics, there are records of Min’s instructions to prepare public opinion warfare since April, and there are records of creating noise and harassing the company. We want to ask if it is not because Min thought that the company will accept the unreasonable compensation demands if they pressurized the company at this time. Furthermore, it is Min who is using the artists as leverage against the company. Min is hoping that the compensation offer will be accepted, and if not, they will use it as an excuse to end the relationship.”
Lastly, HYBE stated, “Over the years, we have accommodated and compromised with Min’s repeated demands. However, this time, we have come to know that these demands are part of the so-called ‘build-up’ process for a takeover of management rights. In order to preserve the value of a multi-label, we had no choice but to conduct an audit.”
Source: (A)
