BTS member V said he was "taken aback" that his KakaoTalk messages with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin were accepted as evidence in court.
On the 20th, V said on social media (SNS) that the conversation with Min was "part of a private, everyday exchange shared in empathy as an acquaintance."
He added, "There was no intention whatsoever to take sides," drawing a line. He also said, "I am very perplexed that the conversation was submitted as evidence without my consent."
Earlier, on the 12th, the court ruled that HYBE must pay former CEO Min 25.5 billion won for a put option (stock purchase claim). It also ordered payments of 1.7 billion won and 1.4 billion won to former deputy CEO Shin and former director Kim, respectively, who exercised put options together, while dismissing HYBE's lawsuit seeking confirmation of termination of the shareholders' agreement.
In addition, the first trial court found that the "ILLIT copied NewJeans" claim raised by former CEO Min could be seen as an opinion or value judgment to the effect that the overall impression is similar. According to Sports Kyunghyang, V's KakaoTalk conversation with former CEO Min was accepted as evidence in the process.
V was reported to have sent a message to former CEO Min regarding the plagiarism controversy, saying, "Aing, exactly. I also looked at it and thought, 'Ah, this looks similar.'"
HYBE appealed the first-instance ruling on the 19th by submitting a brief to the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Agreement Division 31. The dispute between the two sides began in April 2024 when a management rights conflict surfaced. HYBE disclosed in August of the same year that it was terminating the shareholders' agreement with former CEO Min, and former CEO Min notified the exercise of the put option in November, starting the legal battle.
Under the contract structure, the size of former CEO Min's put option was calculated by multiplying ADOR's average operating profit over the past two years (a 4 billion won operating loss in 2022 and a 33.5 billion won operating profit in 2023) by 13, then applying the equity ratio. Based on former CEO Min's 18% equity, the amount is 25.5 billion won, and the total claim amount combining the former executives' portions is 28.7 billion won.