In a press release from ADOR, a subsidiary of HYBE and the company behind K-Pop group New Jeans, it was announced that CEO Min Hee-jin stepped down. Min Hee-jin had faced a string of controversies following in-fighting with HYBE, which led to a very public series of press conferences and lawsuits between Hee-jin and HYBE. Hee-jin previously won an induction against HYBE, thus delaying her departure; however, HYBE replaced members of the board replacing Hee-jin’s allies.
In the press release it’s reported that Hee-jin will still oversee the development of New Jeans, while Kim Ju-young, HYBE’s HR chief, will be implemented as the new CEO.
Update (08/27/24 1:20pm EST)
According to the Maeil Business News Korea, Min-heejin’s representatives responded to the news saying “It was a unilateral decision.” The statement from the representative continues by saying that Min hee-jin was notified on August 24th that a board meeting would be held on the 27th regarding the change. The representative continued by saying Min hee-jin was also notified about her sustained role in producing New Jeans, which they said was also a unilateral decision made by the board.
New Jeans (K-Pop group under ADOR; subsidiary of HYBE)
Updated: 09/11/24
NewJeans members held a live stream where they asked for Min Hee-jin to be re-instated by September 25th, 2024. They also discussed how they lost trust with Hybe/ADOR. NewJeans member Hanni told a story where another group’s manager told them to ignore Hanni.
Updated: 09/24/24
Korea JoongAng Daily, along with other Korean news sources, reported an emergency meeting was held with NewJeans members, their parents, and the CEO of ADOR.
