Min Hee-jin removed as ADOR CEO as Min’s side calls it ‘unilateral dismissal’

Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin. Reporter Kwon Do-hyeon

HYBE has removed Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, from her position. The change in leadership comes four months after tensions began between HYBE and Min. The conflict between the two parties is likely to continue, as Min’s side has criticized the move as a “unilateral dismissal.”

On August 27, ADOR announced that its board of directors had convened and appointed Kim Joo-young, an in-house director at ADOR, as the new CEO. ADOR stated, “Ms. Kim is a human resources management expert and will be responsible for stabilizing the organization and overseeing internal restructuring.”

Min Hee-jin will step down from her role as CEO but will remain on ADOR’s board of directors. “Former CEO Min will continue to oversee the production of NewJeans as she has been doing,” ADOR stated. Additionally, with the appointment of the new CEO, the company has decided to “separate” the production and management tasks that Min had previously overseen.

Min’s side responded to the media, calling the announcement a “unilateral dismissal.” They also stated that it is unclear whether Min will indeed continue to oversee the production of NewJeans.

HYBE attempted to dismiss Min at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of ADOR on May 31, but Min was able to retain her position as CEO after the court granted her request for a preliminary injunction that prevented the board from exercising its voting rights. However, the board members necessary for deciding on the CEO’s removal were all replaced, shifting from Min’s appointees to those aligned with HYBE. It is believed that this new board composition facilitated her removal as CEO.

“The agenda notification and voting process were all conducted legally in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Commercial Act and the Articles of Incorporation,” the company stated, adding, “The board of directors made the best decision for the future of ADOR and NewJeans after thorough discussion.” Min attended the meeting via video conference. ADOR also announced that it had terminated the “shareholders’ agreement” between HYBE and Min last month and is currently undergoing related legal proceedings.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.