Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Well well well, that’s a twist to the HYBE/ADOR saga that I didn’t expect.
Min Hee Jin has won her injunction lawsuit against HYBE, which will (temporarily) prevent them from removing her as CEO of ADOR.
The Seoul Central District Court approved the injunction filed by ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin aimed at preventing HYBE, the label’s parent company, from using its voting rights in the upcoming shareholders’ meeting on Friday.
The verdict means that HYBE, despite its 80 percent stake in the label, will not be able to immediately remove Min, which is the primary agenda of the meeting.
The court basically said it was clear that Min Hee Jin was exploring ways to exit HYBE with ADOR, but that no actions she actually took met the breach of trust standard.
The court stated, “The reasons for Min Hee Jin’s dismissal or resignation claimed by HYBE have not been sufficiently substantiated,” and added, “While Min Hee Jin’s actions may be considered betrayal to HYBE, it is difficult to say that they constitute actions of breach of trust in regards to ADOR.”
HYBE will now either need to win an appeal or cobble together new evidence to call for another shareholders’ meeting. Or they can pay a $20 million penalty and attempt to dismiss her anyway*.
*The problem with this option is that I think it opens them up to lawsuits from Min Hee Jin regarding her termination.
All that said, while HYBE can’t use their voting rights to remove Min Hee Jin, reports believe that since the injunction only applies to her, the rest of the board can still be replaced by HYBE executives. That would effectively isolate Min Hee Jin and leave her controlled by HYBE in some kind of uncomfortable standoff until things get resolved legally.
Still, not exactly sure HYBE were prepared for this result because they’ve been leaking like a colander to every financial outlet about their replacement plans for her.
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Update: See both HYBE’s and Min Hee Jin’s reactions to the decision here.
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Personally, I’m just as surprised as HYBE, stunned even. But I suppose the law must be pretty clear that disloyal thoughts are not enough, and concrete action must be taken to meet the standard of dismissing a CEO. Let’s be honest, none of us know Korean business law enough to really have a solid take to dispute the details of the case, but that’s just my impression of the ruling and analysis.
Hell, maybe the shaman angle was underrated.
Gonna be honest, I'm gonna need the number of that shaman. @alldoorsoneroom
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) May 30, 2024
