HYBE Hits Back With Legal Action After Losing Lawsuit Against Min Hee Jin
On February 12, HYBE issued an official statement after losing the first trial in a lawsuit against former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin regarding a shareholder agreement.
We regret that our claims were not fully accepted. We plan to review the verdict and pursue legal action, including an appeal.
— HYBE
Meanwhile, the court previously ruled, “Defendant HYBE must pay Min Hee Jin ₩25.5 billion KRW (about $17.6 million USD).”
The put option was calculated based on ADOR’s average operating profit over the previous two years and former CEO Min’s shareholding ratio, in accordance with the standards for calculating the shareholder agreement.
The court stated, “Based on the submitted KakaoTalk conversation history, it can be acknowledged that Min Hee Jin sought to weaken plaintiff’s control over ADOR and establish independent control over ADOR. However, the fact that she sought independence from ADOR alone cannot be considered a serious breach in contract.”
K-Netizens agreed that HYBE wouldn’t stop here and keep going until the end.
- “It seems like they’ll go all the way to the third trial, and even if they spend money on lawyers, they’ll think it’s worth it. That’s the standard of HYBE.”
- “It’s so sickening how a large corporation can do this to an individual.”
- “They have so much money, it seems like they’ll go all the way to the Supreme Court.”
- “They’re spending all the money they earned from their artists on lawyer fees. Just give it to them.”
- “So despicable.”
On the other hand, the court recently ruled that HYBE’s claims were dismissed and that they would have to bear the legal costs.
