HYBE is reportedly facing calls to reinstate Min Hee-jin as the CEO of ADOR, the K-pop agency of popular girl group NewJeans, after she stepped down from the role last week.
According to a new story by Yonhap News Agency today (September 4), where it cited “music industry sources”, the publication reports that over 1,000 self-identified fans of NewJeans have expressed concerns about “the management shake-up” at ADOR and how that could “impact the group’s future” in an open letter to HYBE.
The letter was reportedly addressed to new ADOR CEO Kim Ju-young, three other ADOR board members and Lee Jae-sang, the newly appointed CEO of HYBE. According to Yonhap‘s sources, the letter “demanded Min’s term as CEO be guaranteed until November 2026 under the [original] agreement”.
The letter also expressed disapproval of Kim Ju-young as ADOR’s new CEO, saying “they cannot understand” why Kim was chosen as Min’s replacement given her previous role within HYBE as its chief human resources officer and her alleged lack of experience in the entertainment industry.
According to The Korea Times, some fans of NewJeans have also filed a complaint with local police against media outlet Dispatch, HYBE and its subsidiary Source Music for allegedly breaching the Personal Information Protection Act and the Information and Communications Network Act.
In the complaint, fans also claimed that HYBE and Source Music “illegally collected and leaked personal information related to Min Hee-jin and NewJeans”, which they alleged was fed to Dispatch for publication.
The open letter comes just two days after three members of NewJeans took to fan community app Phoning to explicitly express their distress over Min Hee-jin’s departure from the company and managerial changes within ADOR and HYBE.
That came shortly after Min Hee-jin stepped down as the CEO of ADOR, a move which the music executive has alleged wasn’t her choice. She has also since publicly rejected a offer from HYBE to continue producing for the group due to “harmful” clauses, calling it a “trick” designed to force her rejection.
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