HYBE refutes Min Hee-jin's claims, tells her to 'get back to work'

HYBE never offered Min Hee-jin money to leave, the company said in a rebuttal of her interview with the JoongAng Ilbo.

Min Hee-jin [JOONGANG ILBO]

HYBE never offered Min Hee-jin money to leave, the company said in a rebuttal of her interview with the JoongAng Ilbo.

Min held an interview with JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of Korea JoongAng Daily, at her office in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Sept. 14 and 24. The interview was published on Thursday.

HYBE quickly issued a statement on the same day, condemning her for “making outrageous false claims."

“We never offered Min to ‘take our money and leave.' We are appalled that she would make such an outrageous false claim in an interview,” said HYBE.

“Board items are not subject to negotiation, and [board members] are not obligated to give prior notice [about them]. Nevertheless, the ADOR board of directors informed Min of this item three days before the meeting,” said HYBE in response to Min's statement that the board meeting item about her removal as ADOR CEO was not negotiated and lacked a clear reason.

“Other than the breakdown in mutual trust, the board of directors also gave explanations to Min, including a need to separate the duties of production and management,” said HYBE. “There are records to back this up.”

Regarding the audit initiated on Min, HYBE said it followed an insider report and dismissed her claim that it stemmed from incidental emotions.

“The audit confirmed that Min and the ADOR vice CEO had been looking for ways to attack the company for a long time and had met with investors with bad intentions on numerous occasions,” said HYBE. “Min still does not respond to the company's audit, and this is a serious matter that is currently under police investigation.”

HYBE also refuted Min’s allegation that its overseas PR agency spread defamatory information about Min.

“The agency has never distributed any information about Min, and the affiliated company confirmed that we didn’t send any information about Min," the company said. "Billboard columnist Jeff Benjamin also said that we never distributed any slanderous material about Min.”

HYBE came under fire on Wednesday after a Seoul Shinmun reporter said on a local CBS radio show that a representative of the company badmouthed NewJeans and Min.

The PR representative had asked the reporter to correct his article on NewJeans’ album sale in Japan, saying that "NewJeans didn't do that well," according to the reporter.

HYBE clarified that its intent was merely to address "serious information" in the article by referencing publicly available data from the Oricon chart.

Regarding Newjeans’ delayed fan meet and fans concerns over the band's activities, the company said these issues were not related to Min’s removal.

“We were considering the Seoul World Cup Stadium as a venue for the Korean fan meet and greet, but [the request] was rejected due to issues related to the field's grass,” said HYBE.

HYBE condemned Min for her lack of engagement in communication with the agency, calling it a “serious disqualifier as an executive.”

“The new board members have been requesting meetings and contacting Min via email to discuss matters, including NewJeans’ new albums, but Min has been delaying responses or taking unexpectedly long vacations, causing disruptions in work.”

“Due to her work negligence and delayed decision-making, many events for fans have been disrupted,” continued HYBE.

“Please get back to work and do your job for the artists and fans.”

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]