HYBE shares plummet after NewJeans demands reinstatement of ousted CEO

HYBE shares hit a 52-week low afer K-pop group NewJeans demanded the reinstatement of their ousted CEO Min Hee-jin.

Members of girl group NewJeans hold a YouTube livestream on Sept. 11. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

HYBE shares recorded a 52-week low during Monday’s trading session amid the company's prolonged dispute with the CEO of its subsidiary label ADOR.

The entertainment company's stock closed at 158,000 won ($118) on Monday, down 1.25 percent from the previous session.

The members of NewJeans, a popular K-pop girl group signed to ADOR, demanded that HYBE reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO of the subsidiary label during a YouTube livestream Sept 11, claiming that they had been exposed to “subtle bullying” from HYBE staff and Kim Ju-young, who replaced Min as CEO of ADOR on Aug. 27.

Min, who was previously in charge of both the management of the agency and NewJeans' production, was ousted from the label's top position at a board meeting in August after holding a widely publicized news conference in April in which she accused its parent conglomerate of, among other misconduct, mistreating her and delaying NewJeans' debut.

The group asked that Min be reinstated by Sept. 25 in the stream but did not specify what measures it would take after that deadline. Industry insiders speculated that the group could file for an injunction on their exclusive contracts with ADOR after that date.

Pictured are condolence flowers NewJeans fans sent to to HYBE’s headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, in support of the girl group's demand that the agency reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO of subsidiary label ADOR on Monday. [NEWS1]

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]