*This content was translated by AI.
What will be the result of Min Hee-jin's lawsuit against Hive.
The Civil Agreement Department 31 (Chief Judge Nam In-soo) of the Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to hold a trial date on February 12 to confirm the termination of the contract between shareholders filed by Hive against Min Hee-jin.
Former CEO Min Hee-jin filed the lawsuit in November 2024, and in July 2024, Hive terminated the contract between shareholders, claiming that Min Hee-jin tried to privatize NewJeans and Adore and caused damage to the company and its affiliated labels. Since then, former CEO Min Hee-jin has been dismissed from his position as CEO of Adore and resigned from his position as an in-house director of Adore, informing Hive of the exercise of about 26 billion won in put options. However, Hive argued that the shareholder agreement had already been terminated in July 2024, making it ineffective for the exercise of put options. In response, Min Hee-jin countered that Hive's notice of termination was invalid because there was no violation of the shareholders' contract, and maintained that the right to claim payments should be recognized because the put option he exercised is valid.
In the process, NewJeans lost the first trial to confirm the validity of its exclusive contract with Odor in October 2025, and all of its members conveyed their intention to return to Odor without appeal. Afterwards, Audor notified Daniel of the termination of the exclusive contract in December 2025, and filed a lawsuit against Daniel, one of his family members, and Min Hee-jin for damages worth 43.1 billion won.
In the most recent defense, Hive emphasized the fact that it provided 21 billion won to NewJeans launched by Min Hee-jin even before its debut, saying, "The defendants sought to independently control Adore with the aim of taking NewJeans out of Hive. This is a fact that was recognized in the decision of provisional injunction in May and subsequent court decisions," he said.
"The evidence, such as the Kakao Talk conversation, written documents, and the defendants' words and actions, makes it clear what the defendants were trying to do," Hive said, adding, "We planned a public opinion lawsuit to pressure the plaintiff to sell the Odor stake and created a justification for NewJeans to terminate the exclusive contract. It was never an imagination or small talk in a messenger conversation. The defendants consulted industry workers and legal experts. We have also offered deals and meetings to NewJeans parents and potential investors," he claimed.
In particular, he emphasized that all the reasons for termination of the contract that NewJeans members put forward during last year's dispute were all matters prepared by the defendants in 2024 through public opinion, and said, "The court ruling revealed that all of them were unfounded. Mutual cooperation for the growth and development of Adore is the purpose of the contract between shareholders, but cooperation with the other party whose trust relationship has been broken is no longer possible," he said.
On the other hand, Min Hee-jin said, "This case is particularly talkative. The reason why Plaintiff Hive launched an audit of defendant Min Hee-jin in 2024 was only rumors, and when he attacked in all directions, the only reason was the contents of the messenger conversation. Even now, the story is being completed by adapting years of messenger conversations. The plaintiff's claim begins with the fact that the defendant tried to take over Odor. However, the plaintiff robbed the defendant, but no evidence appeared anywhere. He claimed that he violated the contract between shareholders only by saying speculation."
Min Hee-jin then said, "This case is about removing the plaintiff's cornerstone and taming the label. They say they will set an example through crossfire that individuals cannot handle. This representative had a surprising experience in the process of preventing Min Hee-jin from being dismissed as CEO. Dozens of petitions came out in the short hearing. It was intended to oppose Min Hee-jin's dismissal, and even though people in various fields who have worked with the defendant have no choice but to look at Hive, he said that Min Hee-jin has worked sincerely and pleaded to continue working together."
Former representative Min Hee-jin was also seen submitting a petition in person on the 28th ahead of the sentencing, and held an open press conference on the alleged "NewJeans tamping" at the Kyowon Jonggak Building Challenge Hall in Gungul-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 28th and delivered various stories through lawyer Jiam Kim Sun-woong.
Attorney Kim Sun-woong claimed, "The substance of the suspicion that Min Hee-jin's so-called 'NewJeans tambering' triggered by the report in December 2024 and January 2025 was a fraud to the public by the family of a NewJeans member and a specific businessman who attempted to boost stock prices or manipulate market prices of a specific company, unrelated to Min Hee-jin." "When the suspicion was raised, Min Hee-jin even tried to reach an agreement with Hive, even giving up all rights under the contract between shareholders to return and re-activate NewJeans, and in the process, the family of a member who is close to Hive's core management took advantage of Min Hee-jin's situation to plan NewJeans tamping and attract stock market disruptors," he said.
Min Hee-jin's argument is like this. NewJeans member's family (old father) B and Dabolink Chairman Park Jung-kyu tried to manipulate stock prices using themselves, but when the situation was not good, the "NewJeans Tamping" frame was put on as they conducted retaliatory interviews using other media. Hive also claimed to have acquiesced to all this progress even though he was aware of it. B then released a recording file of the two, saying that he/she had a meeting with Hive CEO Lee Jae-sang on September 28, 2024, because he/she said he/she would negotiate with Hive, but failed to produce any results.
Min Hee-jin said, "Hive management and major shareholders knew in advance that Min Hee-jin and Park Jung-kyu would have no choice but to meet on September 30, 2024, and this makes us wonder whether it was known to a media company and eventually used it to create Min Hee-jin's NewJeans tamping frame and assisted it."
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*This content was translated by AI.
