Min Hee Jin, former ADOR CEO, resigns as NewJeans internal director

Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin is officially resigning from HYBE labels.

In an article by Soompi on Wednesday, Min Hee Jin released a statement online to announce her resignation as the internal director of ADOR and the termination of her shareholder agreement.

She said that she intended to hold HYBE labels liable for breaching the shareholder agreement and other "numerous illegal activities" committed by the label and its affiliates.

"Despite the hellish dispute lasting over seven months with HYBE, which began with HYBE's illegal audit in April, I have done everything in my power to uphold the shareholder agreement and restore ADOR to its state before April," Hee Jin said.

"However, HYBE has neither acknowledged its wrongdoing nor shown any signs of change, leading me to conclude that further efforts would be a waste of time," she added.

She also thanked fans of NewJeans for their support and hoped that they will continue to support her future projects in the industry.

In response to Min Hee Jin's resignation, ADOR expressed their regrets and said that they will continue to support NewJeans.

"ADOR feels regrettable about the unilateral resignation notice from Director Min Hee Jin. Our company will do our utmost to support NewJeans so that they can continue to grow and develop further," they said.

Min Hee Jin is currently embroiled in lengthy legal battles with HYBE labels and its subsidiaries, including defamation and disruption of business lawsuits with HYBE sublabels Source Music and BELIFT.  

In August 2024, ADOR announced that Hee Jin had been terminated from her position as CEO in a "unilateral decision." She would be staying as an internal director and the executive director for K-Pop girl group NewJeans.

NewJeans took to YouTube on September 12 to demand her reinstatement as CEO, and claimed that the current ADOR employees were unable to protect them from harassment.

The members also demanded HYBE to "stop bothering" Min Hee Jin and demanded her reinstatement by September 25.

On said day, Min Hee Jin expressed her intent to return as CEO after ADOR said the reinstatement request was "unacceptable."

—Jiselle Anne Casucian/MGP, GMA Integrated News