Min Hee-jin says she was pushed out of position after being removed as ADOR CEO

NewJeans producer Min Hee-jin has reacted after she was replaced by HYBE’s chief HR officer Kim Ju-young as the new ADOR CEO. As per a Korea JoongAng Daily report on Tuesday, Hee-jin revealed that she was “pushed out of her position as CEO of ADOR against her will”. ADOR announced the decision on Tuesday. (Also Read | ADOR responds to shocking knife attack threat against NewJeans)
“The board made the decision regardless of the CEO’s wishes. This is a grave violation of the shareholders’ contract,” Hee-jin said. She added that the company didn’t discuss with her about keeping her as a producer of NewJeans. She called it “a unilateral decision”.
ADOR refuted her claims via a statement on Tuesday evening, “The board meeting was held according to the law. The date was chosen out of the list that Min Hee-jin gave. Min took part in the meeting online, and the board made the optimal decision for the future of ADOR and NewJeans.”
In another report, ADOR’s statement read, “ADOR held a board meeting on Tuesday and appointed Kim Ju-young, a member of ADOR’s board of directors, as the new CEO. We promise to provide the best support for the success of NewJeans with this change in structure.”
As per the report, ADOR will start separating the management and production sectors within the company. Hee-jin was in charge of the company’s management and NewJeans’ production. She will stay on board as an ADOR staff member and retain her position on thecompany’s board of directors. She will also continue producing music for NewJeans.
The news comes amid an ongoing legal battle between Hee-jin and HYBE. She had reported five executives of HYBE to the police over defamation and leaking her private messages to the media. Last month, HYBE had said it would countersue her over false accusation.
Amid this, HYBE also changed its leadership after Park Ji-won stepped down as CEO and Lee Jae-sang, its former chief strategy officer, replaced him. The tiff, which led to a legal battle, started between HYBE and ADOR in April this year.