Min Hee Jin is facing more legal heat from HYBE after police cleared her of breach of trust charges.
The year-long legal battle between HYBE and the former ADOR CEO hit a new snag on July 15, 2025. Police decided not to indict Min for breach of trust, ruling out criminal wrongdoing. HYBE is pushing back hard.
The agency announced it will file an objection with the prosecution immediately. They claim new evidence surfaced after the initial investigation started in April 2024—especially related to the contract termination attempts by NJZ (formerly NewJeans) members.
HYBE’s original accusation accused Min of trying to seize control of ADOR, a HYBE subsidiary, sparking audits and legal action. Police found no legal basis and dropped the case.
But HYBE insists new facts emerged from ongoing legal disputes.
“This is HYBE.
In response to the recent decision not to forward the embezzlement case we filed last year against former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and others to prosecution, HYBE will be filing a formal objection with the prosecution today.
Following the police investigation, new developments arose—including the NewJeans members’ declaration of contract termination—and numerous new pieces of evidence were submitted in related legal proceedings. Based on this, the court has judged Min’s actions to be extremely serious. The appellate court for the injunction case (Seoul High Court) found that Min was ‘intentionally destroying the integrated structure that formed the basis of her exclusive contract,’ and we intend to challenge the non-indictment decision through the objection process based on this.”
HYBE also addressed accusations filed against their own executives by Min and her allies last year. Complaints for obstruction of business and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act were all dismissed.
“Additionally, we would like to inform you that the complaint filed by Min Hee-jin in July last year against five HYBE executives—alleging obstruction of business and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act—was also dismissed by investigators. Authorities concluded that HYBE’s claims “cannot be considered false,” “relate to the public interest and thus do not constitute defamation,” and that the KakaoTalk messages in question “were obtained lawfully during the course of an audit with proper authority.”
We also confirm that several indiscriminate lawsuits and complaints filed by Min and her associates against HYBE and its affiliate staff have all been dismissed.
These include:
• Min Hee-jin’s defamation and false accusation complaint against BELIFT LAB executives and creative directors
• A defamation complaint under the Information and Communications Network Act filed by Team Bunnies against BELIFT LAB executives
• A similar defamation complaint by Dolphin Kidnappers CEO Shin Woo-seok against ADOR’s current management
All of the above were dismissed or resulted in non-indictment decisions.
Thank you.”
The fight began over control of ADOR and creative direction for NewJeans. HYBE accused Min of trying to grab management rights. Min denied the claims. Now with objections and court rulings piling up, this K-pop label war shows no signs of slowing down. Fans are watching closely for the next move.
