HYBE‘s stock price sharply fell following its loss in the lawsuit concerning the put option with former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin.
As of 1:29pm KST on the 12th, Hive’s stock was trading at ₩376,000 KRW (about $260 USD), down 1.76% from the previous close. On the same day, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 31 ruled in favor of Min Hee Jin in her lawsuit against HYBE claiming payment for stock purchase.
The court acknowledged that Min had sought ways to make ADOR independent from HYBE but ruled that this alone did not constitute a serious breach of the shareholder agreement in question.
Furthermore, the court found that Min had diligently fulfilled her duties as CEO, releasing albums in South Korea and Japan even amid disputes with HYBE. The allegations Min raised about ILLIT copying NewJeans and the push-release of albums were also not deemed serious violations of the contract.
The court noted that while terminating the contract would cause considerable and clear damages to Min, there was insufficient evidence of a breach significant enough to justify termination.
Consequently, HYBE was ordered to pay Min ₩25.5 billion KRW (about $17.6 million USD). Additionally, close associates of Min, ADOR and former Director Kim, who had also notified the exercise of put options, were ordered to be paid a combined total of about ₩3.10 billion KRW (about $2.14 million USD).
