From the start of the press conference to the end, it was a one-way street.
On the 25th in the afternoon at a location in Jongno District, Seoul, Min Hee-jin, chief executive officer of ooak Records (former ADOR CEO), held a press conference. Min held the press conference to personally discuss the first-instance lawsuit result and future plans.
Min arrived at the press conference venue five minutes later than the originally scheduled 1:45 p.m. and began the full press conference at 1:51 p.m. "I went to the building next door and walked a bit. I will catch my breath for a moment," began Min's press conference, which started with a read statement. The former ADOR CEO began reading, "You might have thought I would do this freestyle, but today's remarks are important, so I will read them while explaining."
Earlier, Min won the first-instance suit she filed against HYBE seeking stock sale proceeds related to exercising a put option. The court ordered HYBE to pay the former ADOR CEO 25.5 billion won, and HYBE's suit seeking confirmation of termination of the shareholder agreement it filed against the former CEO was dismissed.
Recalling the long lawsuit, Min said, "It was a very long tunnel from the provisional injunction win in 2024, the police nonprosecution in 2025, to the first-instance win in 2026," and added, "The court revealed that the sensational frames of management takeover or tampering were illusory, and it recognized that the concerns I raised about creative ethics were proper managerial decisions for a company's CEO. This lawsuit result was like consolation that washed away the wounds of the past two years for me. I feel a sense of debt for the fatigue I unintentionally caused the public during that process."
Min then said the reason for the press conference was, "I decided to exchange the 25.6 billion won I would gain as a result of my victory for other values," and proposed to HYBE, "In exchange for me relinquishing 25.6 billion won, I propose that all ongoing civil and criminal lawsuits be stopped and that all disputes be concluded. This proposal includes not only me personally but also the NewJeans members and external partner companies, and former ADOR employees, as well as the ending of all lawsuits and complaints directed at the fandoms who were hurt by this whole fight."
The lawsuits Min proposed to conclude include HYBE's shareholder agreement termination confirmation suit against Min, which recently had a first-instance result, the suit the former CEO filed against HYBE seeking stock sale proceeds related to exercising a put option, legal disputes between ADOR and Dolphiners Film, and the damages suit ADOR filed against Danielle and Min and one member of Danielle's family.
She emphasized that "NewJeans" was the reason for this decision. She said, "Only when all these legal disputes are ended will artists, their families and fandoms no longer experience further indiscriminate noise. I cannot bear the reality in which the five members who should happily be on stage see some on stage and some standing in court."
Min said, "Members who are on stage would suffer, and not only the fans watching but no one could view this situation happily. With hearts torn apart like this, you cannot build a good culture. As I have said many times, there are values more important to me than money. Now that my sincerity has been confirmed, I want to show that there are values more precious than money."
She added, "I want to let the NewJeans members know there is always an adult with them and convey my support during what must be a very difficult time for them," and said, "I hope my decision to exchange the large sum of 25.6 billion won for other values will be sublimated into the overall development and harmony of the K-pop industry. The place for me and HYBE is the creative stage, not the courtroom. I had a creative vision when launching NewJeans. It is regrettable I could not finish it, but because of that, I ask that the current ADOR make good on the promise in court that if NewJeans returns, they will take good care of them, so that promise can become reality."
Min also requested, "Please create an environment where all five NewJeans members can freely pursue their dreams together. Opening a path for the artist to shine again is the only role adults should play. For me, 25.6 billion won is not greater than restoring a healthy ecosystem for K-pop and an artist's peaceful daily life. Now I hope each of us does our best in our respective places so we can present better stages to fans. I propose that we, the adults, return to our original roles of competing on music and stage skills, not in court."
Finally, Min said, "Now I will remove the label of former ADOR CEO and walk a new path as CEO of ooak Records. From now on I will devote all my energy to nurturing new artists who will represent the K-pop industry and to business with a new direction. I hope there will be no more consumptive press conferences after today," and concluded, "From now on I will meet you on creative stages, not in press conference halls or courtrooms. I will devote myself to the creative work I do best. I hope my sincerity today becomes a turning point so the K-pop ecosystem can breathe healthily. Today the KOSPI surpassed 6,000. I hope HYBE will consider my proposal for mutual coexistence in a progressive way."
After about six minutes of reading her statement, Min left the venue immediately without taking questions from reporters. Having actively engaged with reporters during the first and second press conferences she attended, Min left this fourth press conference as soon as she finished speaking as if her business was done.
Afterward, lawsuit attorney Kim Seon-ung of the law firm Jiam took the stage and said, "Please send questions by email," which dampened the atmosphere, and there was dissatisfaction that the announcement, despite being billed as an emergency press conference announced the day before, was closer to a one-sided reading.
Voices questioning the sincerity of the former ADOR CEO, who has continued one-sided communication from proposing the day-before press conference that she would forgo 25.6 billion won to ask HYBE to end all lawsuits to a press conference that was merely a one-sided announcement without a Q&A, are growing.
Meanwhile, HYBE appealed the first-instance ruling related to the put option lawsuit on the 19th. HYBE filed an appeal and applied for a provisional stay of enforcement, which the court granted. As a result, execution of the 25.5 billion won payment will not take place immediately.
[Photo] Reporter Lee Dae-seon
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