Min Hee-jin, the former ADOR chief currently locked in a legal battle with HYBE, broke her silence in a 90-minute YouTube livestream, laying out her side with little filter.
Appearing live on the YouTube show “Genre Yeouido” on Dec. 4 KST, Min said the noise around her feels distant despite the online chatter. “I mostly hear about public opinion secondhand. People still cheer me on in person, so I don’t really feel it,” she noted. “There are too many misconceptions about me. After my press conference, I stayed quiet for a year and a half, which only made the misunderstandings grow. I was asked to finally tell my story, so I did.”
Asked if she feels sorry toward NewJeans, Min pushed back: “HYBE should be apologizing to NewJeans.” Citing April 22, 2024―“a date people in Korea won’t forget”―she claimed HYBE’s media strategy painted her team as “traitors,” generating roughly 1,700 articles. “If you’re treated unfairly, speaking up is a right―an issue of basic human rights,” she said.
Min also criticized the way discussion formed around three NewJeans members―MINJI, HANNI, DANIELLE―after they reportedly expressed willingness to return to HYBE, which the company said it needed to “verify.” “From what I know, the messages were delivered on the same day, just at different times―two through ADOR and three via a law firm,” she said. “Why frame it like the three are being singled out? If the goal is to protect the kids, don’t pit them against one another. Even if two spoke first, I would’ve waited for the other three.” She added that a court had essentially suggested the members would be treated well if they came back, questioning why anyone would talk about the trio “as if ostracizing them.”
On HYBE’s claims that she tried to take NewJeans with her or failed as a manager, Min argued “the premise is wrong.” “If alleged contract tampering was the real issue, they should’ve raised it before the press conference,” she said. “Back then, they pushed a narrative about a takeover and breach of trust―and ultimately, no charges were brought. Only after that did the ‘tampering’ allegation appear.”
When asked if she’s in touch with the NewJeans members, Min replied, “No―and I can’t really talk about that.” She added, “Anything I say becomes a story―down to ‘how many times I go to the bathroom.’ The media and the public are consuming only the surface, like it’s a sports match. Making definitive judgments based on a press conference or even appearances at a National Assembly audit is dangerous.”
Min confirmed she recently launched a new label, ooak, saying investors from Korea and abroad have reached out. “Articles keep framing it as doomed, but no one’s actually fact-checking,” she claimed. As for her ongoing legal fight with HYBE, she stressed, “This isn’t about money; it’s about pride. If it were about money, I would’ve swallowed it. I’ve come to believe that if you do good work, the money follows.” She added she’s already at work on a new boy group.
As for NewJeans’ return, Min said it “may take some time.”
Min is currently suing HYBE over payment tied to exercising a put option valued at roughly 26 billion won. HYBE, meanwhile, has filed a suit seeking to terminate a shareholders’ agreement with Min and two associates, maintaining that she violated a non-compete clause. Separately, speculation has swirled that Min is behind moves related to terminating NewJeans’ exclusive contract and signaling independent activity.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)