According to Min Hee Jin (45), former CEO of ADOR, her recent dismissal by ADOR's executive board on August 27 KST was "not mutually agreed upon". 

Earlier on August 27 KST, a board meeting was held at ADOR, where Ju Young Kim (formerly HYBE's Chief Human Resources Officer) was appointed as the new CEO. Following the board meeting, ADOR stated, "The board judged that separating the company's management with its creative production best aligned with ADOR's interests." The agency added on, "Min Hee Jin will resume her roles as a producer and internal director at ADOR." 

In response to ADOR's statement, Min Hee Jin refuted that her dismissal was "a unilateral termination notice by the company." According to Min, "I received a notice on Saturday, August 24, that a board meeting has been scheduled for August 27 to discuss the change of ADOR's CEO. I was only able to attend over video conferencing. The board reached this decision against my intentions. The announcement that I would continue to serve as a producer for NewJeans was also not agreed upon."

How was HYBE able to pull off Min Hee Jin's removal? 

Previously, the parent company scheduled an extraordinary meeting of shareholders in May of this year, intending on dismissing Min Hee Jin as CEO. However, Min Hee Jin responded by requesting an injunction at court, claiming that HYBE's exercise of voting rights at the extraordinary shareholders' meeting was a violation of their shareholder agreement. The court sided with Min Hee Jin, denying HYBE's voting rights. However, HYBE pressed forward by dismissing two internal directors at ADOR who were considered allies of Min Hee Jin, replacing them with three HYBE executives - Kim Joo Young CHRO, Lee Jae Sang CSO, and Lee Kyung Jun CFO. This move restructured the board's power dynamics to 1 (Min Hee Jin) versus 3 (HYBE). 

While Min Hee Jin once again argued that HYBE's actions were a breach of the shareholder contract, ADOR maintains the position that it is a permissible right for an executive board to dismiss and appoint key positions at any time. 

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