HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk speaks during a forum at the Korea Press Center in Seoul in this March 2023 file photo. Yonhap

Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE, said Friday that actions driven by the malice of one individual should not undermine an entire system in reference to an ongoing conflict between his company and the head of a sublabel.

This marks Bang's first official comment on the conflict since it began last month over allegations that Ador CEO Min Hee-jin plotted with her aides to usurp control of her company that manages popular girl group NewJeans. Min has denied the allegations.

"I know there are opinions that Min's actions have exposed problems with the company's multilabel system," Bang said in his petition submitted to the Seoul Central District Court. "No matter how sophisticated the system or thorough the contracts, human malice cannot be completely prevented."

The legal representative of his company unveiled excerpts from the petition during a hearing for an injunction sought by Min against HYBE's move to dismiss her from her position.

Bang continued: "The actions driven by the malice of one person should not damage the system that many people have worked long to build. Moreover, it's the strength of our societal systems to prevent individual malice and misconduct from dismantling social institutions and order."

Regarding the management rights dispute, Bang stressed that he views the case "from a critical and urgent perspective," aiming to "establish proper regulations and precedents for the entire K-pop industry."

"As an industry leader, I am committed to rectifying the situation with all my effort," he said.

Last week, Min filed the injunction, seeking to prevent HYBE from exercising its voting rights as the largest shareholder in her company at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting scheduled for May 31. She claimed HYBE's move to dismiss her is a violation of the shareholders' contract between the two sides.

However, HYBE, which holds an 80 percent stake in Ador, is highly likely to dismiss her during the shareholders' meeting if the court rejects the injunction.

During the hearing, both parties engaged in a legal dispute over HYBE's planned exercise of voting rights at the upcoming shareholders' meeting.

They also clashed heatedly over allegations that Min had been advised by a shaman on major management decisions and her accusations that ILLIT, a new girl group from another HYBE sublabel, imitated NewJeans. (Yonhap)