Ador CEO Min Hee-jin appears at a press conference at the Korea Conference Center in Seocho District, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Min Hee-jin, CEO of girl group NewJeans' agency Ador, has claimed that she received a series of unfair demands in relation to the group's debut from parent company HYBE.

She made the claim during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday, which she organized to refute HYBE's claim of her attempt to have the the K-pop powerhouse's sublabel spin off. The conference was held as HYBE filed a police report against her for breach of trust.

Min asserted that HYBE had constantly mistreated her from the time of preparing to launch NewJeans.

She stated that she had initially begun preparations before the COVID-19 pandemic, with herself as the creative producer, HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk as the music producer, and HYBE's subsidiary Source Music to manage the new group.

Min said that she "poured everything" into selecting the members for the group now known as NewJeans.

However, the CEO claimed that HYBE abruptly instructed her to prioritize the debut of another group, Le Sserafim, over her project.

"I received an abrupt notification from HYBE CEO Park Ji-won. He said that the first girl group under HYBE should be Le Sserafim, a group led by Sakura and Kim Chae-won." she conveyed.

Sakura and Kim entered HYBE in 2022 after their activities in the project girl group IZ*ONE concluded.

K-pop act NewJeans / Courtesy of Ador

Min revealed that she expressed her dismay at the situation, particularly considering the impact on NewJeans' members that she had promised to support. However, HYBE dismissed her concerns, saying it was "none of her concern," she claimed.

Following the disagreement, Min claimed that she had to establish a subsidiary label, Ador, to continue with the NewJeans project.

Min also claimed to have received instructions to refrain from promoting NewJeans for the sake of Le Sserafim.

"Park asked me not to promote NewJeans until Le Sserafim debuted. When I asked why, he said I should make it seem like I took part in producing Le Sserafim ... His intention, probably mainly Bang's, was to trick the public into thinking Le Sserafim was the group under my management. It was absurd," she said.

The NewJeans director contended that Bang, who had not been in contact for a while since the quarrel, sent her messages with "questionable intentions" after songs of NewJeans made it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

According to screenshots she shared, Bang sent her a message that read: "Haha. You must be enjoying this." Min replied with a short dismissive giggle to which Bang replied "I'm really wondering. Why are you laughing?"

Members of Le Sserafim perform during the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., Saturday. AP-Yonhap

Min also denied HYBE's allegations of attempting to take Ador's management rights from HYBE. She clarified that she sought advice from a friend with venture capitalist experience, not external consultants as HYBE suggested.

"I don't know much about management. I'm not well-versed, so because of that, I asked my friend who was originally a venture capitalist ... Bring me evidence of who I met and what investments were discussed — It doesn't even exist. I've never had such discussions," she refuted.

Min also countered HYBE's claims that she received coaching on management matters from a female shaman.

"They seem to bring up the shaman topic because nothing else works ... That person is a friend of mine who happens to be a shaman. I went to see a psychiatrist because of HYBE's mistreatment. The shaman encounter was my last resort to seeking comfort, to see if I could get some relief," she claimed.

Maintaining an assertive stance throughout the event, the Ador CEO concluded, "Sacking a well-performing CEO who drives shareholder value, is a breach of trust. Any move to sabotage a subsidiary is a breach of trust. Going against the shareholders' interests, is what warrants dismissal."