Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin (now ooak Records CEO) won the 25.5 billion won put option lawsuit in the first trial, but with HYBE considering an appeal, the case has entered a second round.
In the first legal battle over the "ADOR incident," the court ruled in favor of former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin. The court did not recognize HYBE's asserted reason for "termination of the shareholders' agreement," and ordered payment of the put option (share purchase claim) amounting to 25.5 billion won demanded by former CEO Min. However, HYBE immediately expressed its intention to appeal, leading to a longer legal dispute.
On the 12th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 31 (Director General Nam In-su) ruled for the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by former CEO Min seeking payment for stock purchase from HYBE. At the same time, it dismissed HYBE's lawsuit seeking confirmation of termination of the shareholders' agreement.
The key issue was whether former CEO Min seriously breached the shareholders' agreement by attempting to seize management of ADOR. HYBE had notified a contract termination, claiming Min attempted to "take NewJeans" and wanted to turn ADOR into an "empty shell."
The court said, "It is acknowledged that former CEO Min sought ways for ADOR to be independent," but added, "those were plans that assumed HYBE's consent, and if HYBE did not consent, they have no effect." The court judged that they were closer to ideas or negotiation proposals rather than concrete breach-of-trust acts that were executed and caused company damage.
Regarding the "empty shell" remark that HYBE presented as decisive evidence, the court dismissed it as "a depiction of the situation after former CEO Min would exercise the put option and leave," saying it was difficult to see it as execution of a plan to "take NewJeans." Allegations by ILLIT of NewJeans plagiarism or of pushing aside records were also recognized as within the legitimate scope of duties or expressions of opinion as a CEO.
HYBE said immediately after the ruling, "We regret that our claims were not sufficiently accepted," and added, "We will review the judgment and proceed with future legal steps such as an appeal."
This signals the start of a second round rather than the end of the first-instance judgment, and because corporate lawsuits involving hundreds of billions of won typically proceed to the Supreme Court, it is expected the legal dispute will last longer, taking years before a final conclusion is reached.
Industry consensus is that this lawsuit goes beyond a simple money issue. Since April 2024, former CEO Min and HYBE have been in extreme confrontation over allegations of management takeover and controversies over alleged mistreatment of NewJeans. Although former CEO Min appears to have gained the upper hand in the first trial, securing both principle and practical benefit, if HYBE delays actual payment through applications for suspension of execution and continues legal argumentation, former CEO Min cannot avoid a long battle either.
Moreover, separate from this ruling, derived issues such as exclusive contract disputes between NewJeans members and ADOR remain entangled. Earlier, the court had sided with HYBE in injunctions related to exclusive contracts. Ultimately, although a 25.5 billion won first-instance verdict has been issued, the HYBE–Min Hee-jin upheaval that shook the K-pop market is expected to continue fiercely in the second round at the appellate level.
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