Min Hee-jin: "HYBE is the contracting party... Stop the 'Min Hee-jin is behind everything' theory."

NewJeans contracts were all handled by HYBE's legal team, it claims.They counter that they did not have the authority to sign contracts in the first place.Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, refuted HYBE's statement, which identified her as the party responsible for the contract between ADOR and NewJeans. /THE FACTDB[THE FACT|Reporter Choi Hyun-jung] Min Hee-jin, CEO of ADOR, has clarified her position regarding the controversy surrounding the exclusive contract between ADOR and NewJeans.Talent agency ADOR released a statement on the 6th, refuting HYBE's claims and stating, "HYBE should move beyond the absurd 'everything is Min Hee-jin's fault' narrative and demonstrate a responsible attitude for the future of K-pop."Earlier, on the 5th (local time), U.S. media outlet The New York Times published the exclusive contract signed between ADOR and NewJeans in 2022, claiming that some clauses were written to be disadvantageous to the artist. ADOR subsequently issued a statement refuting the report, stating, "Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of ADOR, was the party responsible for the contract, and requested that this be noted, but it was omitted."Regarding this, ADOR claimed, "The draft of the exclusive contract for NewJeans was prepared by HYBE's legal team, and revisions were also processed through HYBE's legal team," adding, "At the time, ADOR did not have an independent legal team or legal experts who could directly design and review the key clauses of exclusive contracts."They further stated, "The contract signing process was not structured such that the contract could be finalized solely with the approval of ADOR's CEO," and countered, "It required the agreement and approval of HYBE's legal team, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as well as the approval of the board of directors composed of two HYBE personnel and one ADOR CEO."ADOR also claimed, "During a meeting with the HYBE CEO in PARK JIWON in 2024, CEO Min Hee-jin requested the authority to sign major contracts, including exclusive contracts, but HYBE refused."They added that aspects independently decided by ADOR, such as the exemption of trainee costs, were done out of consideration for the artist and were coordinated within the specific guidelines and policy direction of HYBE's legal team, making it impossible to consider the overall decision-making power as independent.Furthermore, the clauses concerning the artist's face and voice, which have become a point of contention, were also drafted by HYBE, and revisions made during discussions with parents were limited, they claimed.ADOR stated, "In HYBE's multi-label system, legal functions and major contract decision-making power are concentrated in the parent company, while the external responsibility for contracts is solely placed on the subsidiary labels," criticizing, "Designing a structure where the subsidiary CEO cannot approve without HYBE's CEO's approval, and then distributing a statement to assign blame is like spitting in one's own face."They emphasized, "What needs to be explained now is not who signed the contract, but who had the power to create and amend the key clauses of the contract," urging HYBE to take responsibility.laugardagr@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]