Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin reflected on her time working at SM Entertainment.
On September 27, Min Hee Jin was invited to speak at the 2024 Hyundai Card Da Vinci Motel event in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul and gave a lecture titled, "The Producer Who Breaks K-pop’s Formula: Min Hee Jin’s Freestyle." During the lecture, Min Hee Jin mentioned her early struggles at SM Entertainment. “At the time, it was a complete wasteland. There was no system in the company,” she said. She added, “During my first year or two at SM, I found it so tough that I even thought about leaving.”
She continued, “But I had a few good opportunities, and Lee Soo Man, who was the head producer at the time, said, ‘She seems pretty smart,’ and I was just an assistant manager. He even emailed all the team leaders saying, ‘You don’t know graphics, so listen to what she says.’ He was an insightful person, and when someone supports you, it gets exciting.”
Min Hee Jin also shared her experience with creative control. “In the beginning, I was doing graphic design for album covers, but I didn’t have any authority. I would get photos taken by someone else and then create the graphic design. I even told the stylists, but I was in my 20s, so who would listen to me?” she recalled. “The first time I was able to give direction to the stylists was for Girls' Generation’s first album, but I didn’t have any control over the music video, and that was really frustrating.”
Regarding her relationships with her superiors, Min Hee Jin said, “There’s no perfect solution when working with people above you. Every boss has a different personality. Nothing in life comes easy, and there’s no shortcut to success. You have to understand your boss and develop your own strategy,” she advised. “You can’t feel resentful about it,” she added. “When I was young and had nothing, it was the place that took me in. That’s how you learn about organizations and society.”
Currently, Min Hee Jin and ADOR’s parent company, HYBE, are embroiled in a sharp conflict. On the 11th, NewJeans members requested Min Hee Jin’s reinstatement as CEO during a live broadcast, but on the 25th, HYBE announced, “We have decided to convene an extraordinary general meeting to reappoint Min Hee Jin as an internal director, but we will not accept her reinstatement as CEO.”
Following this, in an interview with 'JoongAng Ilbo', Min Hee Jin claimed, “I was offered money to leave, but since money wasn’t my goal, I declined,” adding that the current conflict is “a public execution for openly going against the parent company’s wishes.” In response, HYBE issued a statement denying her claim, saying, “We never offered her a deal to take money and leave. We are bewildered by such groundless lies being shared in media interviews.”
Meanwhile, Korean netizens responded:
"No matter what, don’t overpraise Lee Soo Man, haha. He’s the one who tried to sell SM to Bang Si Hyuk, haha. SM almost disappeared because of him."
"If you think about how much money Min Hee Jin brings in, you could type out an all-company email with tears in your eyes."
"His foresight was insane."
"In terms of ability, Lee Soo Man is much better than Bang Si Hyuk."
"All-company email, haha. Truly a money-hungry person."
"If he managed to keep someone as talented and ego-driven as Min Hee Jin around since her early career days, then Lee Soo Man really knows how to handle people."
"Now people are even praising that guy, haha."
"Lee Soo Man... I have to admit, he’s the one who shaped my taste in idols."
"Lee Soo Man at least had talent, though."
"If it were Lee Soo Man or JYP, not only would they be fully backing NewJeans for their innovative music, but they’d also be eagerly waiting to launch a Min Hee Jin-style boy group, practically drooling over the idea."
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