A court accepted HYBE's request to stay enforcement filed against former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin (now CEO of ooak), who won in the first trial over put option payments. As a result, until the appellate ruling is handed down, it will be difficult for Min's side to proceed with compulsory execution for the put option payment based on the first-trial judgment.
According to legal sources on the 24th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 17 (Presiding Judge Jang Ji-hye) granted on the previous day HYBE's application to stay enforcement against Min and others. With this decision, compulsory execution related to payment of the put option will be suspended until the appellate judgment.
Earlier, on the 12th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 31 (Presiding Judge Nam In-su) ruled for the plaintiff in a lawsuit for stock sale price that Min filed against HYBE. The court found that HYBE must pay Min approximately 25.5 billion won in put option (stock purchase right) proceeds.
The court also ordered a person surnamed Shin, former ADOR deputy CEO, and a person surnamed Kim, former director, who exercised the put option together, to be paid 1.7 billion won and 1.4 billion won, respectively. By contrast, it dismissed HYBE's lawsuit seeking confirmation of termination of the shareholders' agreement against Min.
Although the two lawsuits are separate cases, the same panel heard them together because whether the shareholders' agreement was terminated is a prerequisite for the establishment of the put option claim. The first-trial court found it difficult to conclude that Min materially breached the shareholders' agreement with HYBE and determined that the agreement was valid when Min exercised the put option.
The court also did not accept the assertions that Min induced NewJeans to terminate their exclusive contract and took them away to push an ADOR initial public offering (IPO), or HYBE's claim that Min raised "NewJeans copy" suspicions to purchase ADOR equity at a low price.
Min and HYBE have been in conflict since Apr. 2024 over alleged attempts to seize management control and alleged discrimination against NewJeans. The lawsuit escalated after Min notified HYBE in Nov. the same year of her intent to exercise the put option on ADOR shares, and HYBE countered that the shareholders' agreement had already been terminated and it had no obligation to pay.
HYBE appealed and filed a notice of appeal on the 19th.