(Bloomberg) — A Seoul court has barred K-pop giant Hybe Co. from firing producer Min Hee-jin as head of its record label Ador, leaving her in control of artists including hit group NewJeans.
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The Seoul Central District Court said Hybe’s evidence and justifications were not sufficient to support the company’s case for Min’s dismissal, according to a report by Yonhap News. With the court’s decision, Hybe will not be able to exercise its right to vote to remove Min from the label at the company’s shareholders’ meeting, which is scheduled for Friday.
The power struggle at K-pop’s biggest company comes as Hybe seeks to diversify through acquisitions and reduce its dependence on superstar group BTS. Hybe purchased Ithaca Holdings from Scooter Braun for about $1 billion in 2021, but several stars subsequently left the label.
“We ask Hybe to respect the court’s decision,” Min’s lawyer said in a statement after the ruling. “If Hybe takes any action to remove Min from his role as CEO, it will directly violate the shareholders’ agreement.”
Min’s lawyer also asked Hybe not to fire two other Ador directors from their positions at Friday’s meeting.
In its own statement, Hybe said it would not exercise its voting rights to try to remove Min at the shareholder meeting.
“We plan to follow up within the framework of the law,” the company said.
Min was approached by Hybe founder Bang Si-hyuk in 2019 after resigning from rival K-pop company SM Entertainment Co., where she spent more than 15 years as a producer for popular idol bands such as EXO and Red Velvet. But the relationship between the two producers quickly soured with the debuts of girl groups produced by each of them. In early April this year, Min sent a long letter to Bang and Hybe management alleging that they discriminated against NewJeans.
The internal conflict between Min and Hybe’s management became public in April, after Hybe initiated an internal audit against Min. Company executives investigated whether she had attempted to take control of the parent company’s brand by contacting investors for a potential management buyout or initial public offering. Min, who owns 18% of Ador shares, denied the allegations.
Min then held a dramatic press event that drew millions of viewers online. She said her contract with Hybe was unfair and that headquarters had underestimated the brand value behind NewJeans.
Hybe refuted Min’s claims and filed a complaint with the police to investigate Min for alleged breach of duty. Min filed for an injunction to prevent Hybe from exercising its voting rights in Ador during Friday’s shareholder meeting. Each side organized campaigns to gain public support. Bang and the Korean producers behind the Hybe brands filed petitions with the court, while NewJeans members and their fans signed Min’s petition, according to Yonhap.
Hybe CEO Park Ji-won tried to encourage employees not to let the case affect their work, according to local reports, which cited an internal memo he sent after the decision was announced. Park promised to protect intellectual property created by employees.
The K-Pop drama is not fully resolved. Hybe plans to continue to defend his case that Min tried to take control of Ador. Meanwhile, Min will be able to set the direction of NewJeans, which helped Ador generate about 100 billion won ($73 million) in revenue last year.
(Updates to add context about employee morale. An earlier version of the story was corrected to remove a reference to Ariana Grande’s departure from record label Hybe.)
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