"I will run the company through investment, not the 25.6 billion won put option I can receive from HYBE."
Representative Min Hee-jin of ooak Records (former ADOR chief) stated accordingly in a phone interview with ChosunBiz after a press conference on the 25th, saying, "I received investment proposals from many domestic and overseas corporations."
At a press conference that morning, Representative Min said she would not receive the 25.6 billion won to be awarded from winning the first trial in the lawsuit to confirm the exercise of the put option and the termination of the shareholders' agreement with HYBE. She proposed to HYBE Chair Bang Si-hyuk, "Let's end the legal dispute now."
In the entertainment industry, there had been expectations that the 25.6 billion won put option would likely be used as operating funds for the entertainment agency "ooak Records," which Representative Min founded in Oct. last year. Representative Min is currently preparing to launch her first boy group. It is known that producing one idol group typically requires funds in the tens of billions of won.
Representative Min emphasized caution in the process of raising investment. She mentioned a past case in which controversy flared as rumors spread that the information and communications equipment corporations Davolink would invest in her. At the end of 2024, the stock market even saw allegations of price manipulation tied to related rumors and the so-called "NewJeans tampering suspicion."
Representative Min said, "I will review investment proposals more carefully before deciding." Representative Min plans to establish the operating base of ooak Records through independent fundraising rather than relying on the put option funds.
Meanwhile, the Civil Division 31 of the Seoul Central District Court on the 12th rendered a partial ruling in favor of the plaintiff in the first trial of Representative Min's lawsuit against HYBE to confirm the exercise of the put option and the termination of the shareholders' agreement. The court ordered HYBE to pay Representative Min 25.6 billion won. HYBE appealed the ruling.