Ador CEO Min Hee-jin / Courtesy of Ador

Ador, a sublabel of entertainment giant HYBE, issued a renewed rebuttal on Thursday against the recent claims made by its parent company following Ador CEO Min Hee-jin's press conference.

Ador categorically denied the allegations of Min's supposed attempt to seize control of the company, while also revealing details of internal whistleblowing that Min had disclosed last month.

In a long statement covering nine key points, Ador, the agency behind girl group NewJeans, said they had refrained from responding to avoid disrupting artists' activities and to protect their market value, but expressed disappointment that HYBE resumed counterclaims through the media just a day after promising not to respond to Min's press conference.

"The continuous spread of unverified issues has increased public confusion. We aim to clarify the facts behind the current controversies and help clear up misunderstandings," it said.

Ador refuted HYBE's claims of Min trying to seize control, arguing that the documents presented by HYBE as evidence were merely speculative and did not indicate any concrete plans or actions related to seizing control.

It said that when the audits began and the media attacks intensified, Ador's deputy CEO approached HYBE's management, requesting them to cease their unilateral media campaign. Instead, the deputy CEO was pressured to sign a consent form, and personal messenger content was leaked to the media the next day, which Ador claimed was a severe invasion of privacy.

'Tiny incentive for huge profit'

Addressing Min's incentive of 2 billion won ($1.45 million), Ador said that it was a reward for achieving a 34 billion won operating profit within two years of Ador's establishment.

Ador claimed the incentive process lacked transparency and that HYBE distorted the facts to frame Min as being driven by financial greed. "Distorting the facts surrounding incentives and mentioning Min's salary, incentives, and stock compensation is an attempt by HYBE to create a false narrative that she is driven by financial greed."

It also reiterated HYBE's "broken promise" to debut NewJeans as their first girl group.

"HYBE publicly declared NewJeans as their first girl group. However, Le Sserafim ended up debuting first, showing that HYBE did not keep their promise. Despite this, HYBE continues to make false claims," it said. "HYBE claims that NewJeans' debut was delayed due to corporate restructuring and contract transitions, but it's disappointing that they continue to lie about what has already happened."

HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk / Yonhap

Min's stock put option

Ador argued that there were many speculations and distortions regarding the agreement involving shareholdings.

Min currently holds an 18 percent stake, or 573,160 shares, of Ador. If Min is found guilty of the alleged breach of trust, HYBE could purchase her 18 percent stake in Ador at face value due to a violation of the shareholder agreement. Given that the shares have a face value of 5,000 won each, the total would be estimated at 2.9 billion won.

However, if no violation of the shareholder agreement is found, Min could exercise a put option worth up to 100 billion won based on current valuations.

Ador clarified the issue surrounding Min's put option, which HYBE claimed was 30 times higher than its book value, by stating, "This figure reflects the value of future boy group production and was just one of the suggestions."

Min joined Big Hit Entertainment, HYBE's predecessor, in 2019 as a chief brand officer and later became Ador's CEO in 2021. The following year, she launched NewJeans, propelling them to global stardom. Last year, Ador reported revenue of 110.2 billion won and an operating profit of 34 billion won.

K-pop girl group NewJeans / Courtesy of Ador

'Honest opinions' from Min to Bang

Ador pointed out that it was HYBE that made the audit process of Ador public to the media.

"If HYBE believed that attacking CEO Min and Ador instead of handling the issue quietly would not affect the brand value of NewJeans, it shows a complete lack of understanding of label management and is a sophistry aimed at covering up their own misjudgments," it said.

Ador also revealed the contents of Min's whistleblowing delivered to HYBE last month.

"On April 16, CEO Min highlighted various issues and said, 'HYBE is not ready, lacks understanding, and does not have the right attitude for a multi-label system.' Believing in Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's guidance, she gave her honest opinions, but now finds herself accused of breach of trust and is facing the current situation."

Stressing its dedication to supporting NewJeans, Ador said, "If HYBE truly wishes to protect their IP (intellectual property) as they claim, they should stop the baseless smear campaigns and show common sense by supporting Ador to focus entirely on creativity."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by generative AI and edited by staff of The Korea Times.