Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin has claimed that an offer from HYBE, which owns the K-pop agency, to continue producing for NewJeans is “unreasonable” in a new statement.
Today (August 30), Min Hee-jin released a statement saying that she would not be signing a contract offered to her by HYBE that would allow her to continue producing for NewJeans, claiming that the terms of the contract are “unreasonable”.
The contract offered to Min allegedly would retain the ex-ADOR CEO to produce for the girl group from August 27 to November 1. The music executive has claimed that “it is unrealistic to expect the successful completion of crucial production tasks, such as preparing for NewJeans’ world tour in 2025, under such a short-term contract”, per The Korea Herald.
Min has also claimed that the proposed contract contains “harmful” clauses not found in other contracts issued by ADOR or its parent company, HYBE. These allegedly include clauses that would allow the company to immediately terminate the agreement if “her work performance was deemed insufficient or if the company’s business circumstances changed”, per Yonhap News Agency.
Min also alleged that ADOR’s two-month contract included a clause stipulating a “noncompete period of one year that is six times longer than its original two-month duration”, per The Korea Herald. She called the offer a “trick” designed to force her to reject the contract.
In response to Min’s claims, ADOR released a statement on today, claiming that the new two-month contract was meant to cover the remainder of her contract, which expires on November 1. “Any contract beyond that date would need to proceed alongside the renewal of the other contract,” the company said.
ADOR also addressed the clauses highlighted by Min, calling them “minimal safeguards” designed to prevent “any potential failure on her part to honestly perform her duties as a producer from causing significant damage to the company’s management”, per Yonhap.
In an initial statement made by ADOR earlier this week (August 27), the company wrote that Min would remain on the board of directors and retain the ability to continue producing for NewJeans.
Min Hee-jin was first announced to have stepped down from her role as ADOR’s CEO on August 27. The announcement came amid a lengthy feud between Min and HYBE, which owns the majority of ADOR, over the control of the company.
