HYBE appealed a first-trial ruling ordering payment of 25.5 billion won in put-option proceeds to former ADOR chief Min Hee-jin, now head of ooak. HYBE also filed for a stay of execution to halt enforcement of the first-trial judgment until the appeals court's decision.
According to legal sources on the 20th, HYBE the previous day filed a notice of appeal with the Seoul Central District Court Civil Agreement Division 31 (Presiding Judge Nam In-su, Director General). HYBE is also said to have applied for a stay of execution, asking the court to suspend the effect of the first-trial judgment until the appeals ruling.
On the 12th, the court in a lawsuit seeking payment for stock sales ordered HYBE to pay former chief Min 25.5 billion won in put-option (stock purchase claim right) proceeds. It also ordered payment of 1.7 billion won and 1.4 billion won, respectively, to a former ADOR deputy CEO surnamed Shin and a former director surnamed Kim, who had notified the exercise of the put option alongside Min.
The court dismissed HYBE's lawsuit seeking confirmation of termination of the shareholders' agreement against former chief Min. Because the premise of the put-option claim is whether the shareholders' agreement was terminated, the court heard the two cases in parallel.
Former chief Min and HYBE have been at odds since Apr. 2024 over alleged attempts to seize management control and alleged discrimination against NewJeans. In Aug. 2024, HYBE said in its semiannual report that it had terminated the shareholders' agreement with former chief Min, and in Nov. of the same year, former chief Min notified the exercise of the put option, setting off a legal battle.
The put-option proceeds are calculated by applying 13 times ADOR's average operating profit for the previous two fiscal years (2022–2023) and reflecting 75% of former chief Min's equity ratio. ADOR posted an operating loss of 4 billion won in 2022 but recorded 33.5 billion won in operating profit in 2023, and as of the audit report released in Apr. 2024, former chief Min's holdings were presented as 573,160 shares (18%).
Meanwhile, separate from former chief Min's put-option suit, NewJeans members lost their exclusive-contract dispute with ADOR. The Seoul Central District Court Civil Agreement Division 41 (Presiding Judge Jeong Hoe-il, Director General) ruled in Oct. last year in favor of ADOR in a lawsuit filed by ADOR seeking confirmation of the validity of the exclusive contracts against the NewJeans members.