Former ADOR chief Min Hee-jin, who had called herself "NewJeans' mother" and emphasized a close bond with the members, publicly targeted NewJeans members' families by name as she faces a roughly 10 billion won damages lawsuit.
On the afternoon of the 28th in Jongno District, Seoul, Min's side held a press conference saying it would reveal "the truth about NewJeans tampering." However, Min did not attend in person, and Kim Seon-woong, an attorney from the law firm Jiam representing her in the lawsuit, delivered her position instead.
Attorney Kim said that the reason Min did not attend was that she had "found the recent developments involving NewJeans members' families deeply shocking, making it difficult to attend the press conference." He went on to explain that Min was served with a damages claim of about 10 billion won on Dec. 30 of last year, alleging that she "led the termination of NewJeans' exclusive contract and, through tampering, infringed on ADOR's claims."
At the press conference, while fully denying the tampering allegations against her, Min's side escalated the controversy by naming one member's family and a specific businessman as the principal actors in the case. Min's side argued, "'NewJeans tampering' was not the conduct of Min but a stock market manipulation conspiracy in which a member's family and a specific businessman colluded."
Attorney Kim said, "This was a nationwide fraud using the name NewJeans to prop up a particular corporation's stock price," and argued that "Min was actually a victim who was used."
Specifically, they said one member's father introduced his brother A and proposed that A handle negotiations with HYBE, and in that process A and businessman B conspired to use Min and NewJeans as a "theme stock." Min's side presented parts of recordings and messages as evidence to prove this.
But public reaction after the press conference was chilly. The image of Min as someone who "fought for the members" has disappeared, and there has been simultaneous disappointment and criticism that she held a press conference publicly raising issues about a member's family to try to escape legal responsibility. The symbolic role of the "NewJeans mother" is widely seen as having suffered an irreparable rift.
There are even claims that HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang had previously noticed signs of related contact and issued warnings, leading to further criticism that Min's failure to manage risk itself was the problem.
Min's side said it would file criminal defamation charges against businessman B and some media figures and accuse them of illegal trading, stating, "We will fight to the end."
Meanwhile, NewJeans members in November 2024 notified ADOR, a HYBE label, that it had unilaterally terminated the exclusive contract, alleging ADOR breached its management obligations over the dismissal of Min Hee-jin and other reasons. A lawsuit to confirm the contract's validity then proceeded, and after about a year of legal disputes the court sided with ADOR and recognized the contract as valid.
After the first-instance ruling, the members expressed their intention to appeal, but starting with Haerin and Hye-in and followed by Min-ji, Hanni and Danielle, they indicated they would return to ADOR, effectively ending the dispute in ADOR's favor. ADOR said, however, that "in Danielle's case, we judged it would be difficult to continue together and notified her of contract termination," and signaled additional legal responsibility for one member of Danielle's family and Min Hee-jin.
ADOR has filed a damages claim of about 43.1 billion won against Danielle, one member of Danielle's family and Min Hee-jin. Danielle has also appointed legal counsel and is mounting a direct response.
Regarding Min's press conference, ADOR on the 28th gave a brief comment to OSEN: "If there is a claim, it should be addressed in court."
[photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]