Industry Insider Exposes The Full Timeline Of Bang Si Hyuk Versus Min Hee Jin Feud
Amidst the very public fallout of HYBE, the multi-label K-Pop conglomerate, and ADOR, one of its subsidiaries, an insider has provided some additional context about the conflict.
It was only recently that HYBE made it public that they were pursuing administrative and legal actions against Min Hee Jin, the CEO of ADOR, for allegedly trying to leave HYBE. Min, in response, made accusations against HYBE and its founder, Bang Si Hyuk, muddying the water further.
As both sides offered their perspectives with each new development, a stock trader posted the entire timeline of this conflict on Blind, a messaging forum used by verified company employees, on April 24, KST.
According to the user’s timeline, here’s how things went down:
2019
Despite surpassing SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment with just BTS in his arsenal, Bang Si Hyuk was dissatisfied that his agency couldn’t launch a girl group successfully. At that time, he acquired Source Music, which was home to the girl group GFRIEND. His aim was to launch a new girl group under this label, and for that, he hired Min Hee Jin, former SM creative director.
Afte Min’s recruitment, Source Music started pushing for a new group’s debut and began global auditions. NewJeans’ Minji, who was already a trainee under them, was selected to be on the lineup.
2020
Though the market was stunted by COVID-19 in 2020, BIGHIT MUSIC continued with the expansion and acquired Pledis Entertainment, home to SEVENTEEN. In August, BTS topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time with “Dynamite.” By October, BIGHIT had seen a significant surge in revenue, becoming worth ₩11.0 trillion KRW (about $8.00 billion USD) based on the listing date.
2021
Min Hee Jin was then entrusted with rebranding the company’s image, following which HYBE came into being in March as a global entertainment company with multiple labels under its umbrella. It was only after that the central conflict began between Bang and Min.
Min Hee Jin didn’t want to debut NewJeans under Source Music but under her own exclusive label. Bang Si Hyuk agreed and invested ₩16.1 trillion KRW (about $11.7 billion USD), 100% of which came from HYBE’s capital, and established the subsidiary of ADOR. Min Hee Jin was promised a salary of ₩500 million KRW (about $363,000 USD) and a future stock option of 20%. Trainees Minji, Hani, Danielle, and Haerin were moved to ADOR in November.
2022
After Min Hee Jin left Source, the company struggled with staff loss. To battle this, they signed Chaewon and Sakura in March and debuted LE SSERAFIM in May. ADOR had only partially compensated for the NewJeans members’ training cost. Later, ADOR selected Hyein as a trainee and moved her from Source Music. In July 2022, the group debuted with the highest debut sales for a girl group in history.
2023
Within a year, ADOR saw a tremendous increase in revenue, from ₩186 billion KRW (about $135 million USD) in 2022 to ₩1.10 trillion KRW (about $802 million USD) in 2023. Bang Si Hyuk had intended to give Min Hee Jin the promised 20% stock options, but she demanded a higher compensation due to the 45% tax rate at the acquisition point. Ultimately, Bang gifted her low-cost stocks at an 18% stake. Hana Securities reported that ADOR was valued at ₩2.00 trillion KRW (about $1.45 billion USD) at that time, and Min Hee Jin’s compensation alone was around ₩400 billion KRW (about $291 million USD) by the end of the year.
2024
2024 saw the compensation conflicts resurface. Min Hee Jin started negotiating with major global players like the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund and Singapore Investment Corporation to secure friendly stakes. Her aim was to push HYBE to sell over 30% of its stake in ADOR out of the 80% it owned. This would have given her over 50% stake in the company, allowing her management control.
Min Hee Jin reportedly used dirty tricks to pressure HYBE into divesting. So far, she has been accused of leaking personal information about HYBE artists and manipulating the family members of NewJeans to pressure HYBE. The parents of the members forwarded a request to HYBE demanding an explanation of the alleged “copying” of NewJeans for HYBE’s new girl group, ILLIT. When HYBE proposed a meeting, the parents reportedly turned it down on the grounds of distrust.
Frustrated by the situation, Bang Si Hyuk decided to suffer a ₩850 billion KRW (about $618 million USD) loss in market capitalization and started an internal audit.
The full picture has left Korean netizens in shock, most of whom feel Min Hee Jin’s greed triggered this controversy.
- “I disliked Bang Si Hyuk, but I’m rooting for him.”
- “Money Hee Jin.”
- “Whoa.”
- “Huh.”
- “She tried to take away ADOR… She’s’s scary. I feel like I’m watching the drama Queen of Tears.”
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