Min HeeJin, Former CEO of ADOR, in Dispute with HYBE Over Stock Purchase Rights

It has been revealed that Min HeeJin, former CEO of ADOR, recently officially communicated her intention to exercise stock purchase rights, commonly known as a put option, with HYBE. This news has created a significant stir in the music industry.

Earlier this month, Min informed HYBE about the exercise of the put option. According to shareholder agreements, she can receive an amount equivalent to 75% of the ADOR shares she holds from HYBE, based on 13 times the average operating profit of ADOR for the previous two years. The reference years for this put option are 2022 and 2023, taking into account ADOR’s 2022 operating loss of 4 billion KRW and 2023 operating profit of 33.5 billion KRW. 2022 was the debut year for NewJeans, which contributed to the recorded deficit.

According to ADOR’s publicly released audit report, Min holds 573,160 shares of ADOR, constituting an 18% stake. Based on this, it is estimated that she could receive around 26 billion KRW. It is reported that former Deputy CEO Shin and former Director Kim also notified HYBE of their intention to exercise their put options on the same day.

Min recently appeared on music critic Kim YoungDae’s YouTube channel, clarifying that she had no intention of leaving HYBE and claimed to be suffering from a misrepresented narrative. She also denied investment rumors and dismissed speculations about contracts with specific companies.

In July, HYBE notified Min of the termination of the shareholder agreement due to a breach of trust, but Min asserts that the agreement is still valid. NewJeans, the only artist under ADOR, has also recently sent a certification of contents warning to the agency about contract termination, drawing attention to the development of this situation.

There is considerable interest in how this dispute will unfold, and industry watchers will be keenly following any updates. Readers are encouraged to check Kpopmap for the latest news.

This article has been written by Kpopmap AI writer and while we have made efforts to ensure the accuracy of the article, there may be errors or inaccuracies.