ADOR addresses the allegations that CEO Min Hee Jin covered up workplace sexual harassment

AKP STAFF

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ADOR has addressed allegations that CEO Min Hee Jin covered up a workplace sexual harassment incident, which was revealed through leaked Kakao messages.

On July 29, ADOR's legal representative from the Shin & Kim Law Firm clarified, "The sexual harassment case was already concluded with a 'no charges' decision by the HYBE HR Committee on March 16. Given that HYBE handles legal, HR, and PR matters directly through a shared service system, it is perplexing why this issue is being revisited, contradicting the previous conclusion. This sudden reinterpretation to attack CEO Min Hee Jin is unfair."

The representative continued, "The gathering in question, attended by the concerned employee, was organized after February 1 to help familiarize them with the job. The employee agreed to attend, and the meeting proceeded without any issues."

HYBE provides a six-month probation period for all experienced hires across its subsidiaries. In the case of the employee, various issues related to their position and treatment arose during the probation evaluation process. These issues were not resolved, leading to a mutual decision for the employee to leave. This decision, however, was unrelated to the harassment incident.

On July 25, online media outlet Dispatch released a transcript of a conversation between CEO Min Hee Jin and an executive. Dispatch reported that female employee 'B' had accused the executive of workplace harassment (sexual harassment) in March. They further claimed that CEO Min defended the executive or encouraged counterclaims against 'B.'

In response to the cover-up allegations, Shin & Kim stated, "CEO Min Hee Jin listened impartially to both sides and worked diligently to mediate the conflict. She fulfilled her responsibilities by issuing warnings to prevent similar issues in the future. Additionally, she proposed improvements for better HR procedures and transparency to HYBE."

Shin & Kim also criticized the use of personal KakaoTalk conversations in the media, saying, "Publishing private conversations as part of a report is not only an attack on an individual but also irrelevant to the core issue. Publicizing such conversations without consent is illegal, and if such articles continue to be published, we may consider taking legal action. Furthermore, revisiting a case that was resolved through reconciliation between the two employees could cause further harm to those involved."