[breaking news] Min Hee-jin won the put option lawsuit "No violation of contract, 25.5 billion payments"

*This content was translated by AI.

Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR, won a ruling in favor of a lawsuit for Hive shareholder contracts and put options.

The Civil Agreement Department 31 (Director Nam In-soo) of the Seoul Central District Court held a ruling on Hive's decision on the 12th to confirm the termination of the shareholder contract against former CEO Min Hee-jin and a lawsuit against former CEO Min Hee-jin for the exercise of put options against Hive, saying, "Hive's claim is dismissed, and Hive will bear the cost of the lawsuit. In addition, Min Hee-jin's exercise of put options is justified and pay an amount worth 25.5 billion won, he said.

After summarizing the positions of both sides, the court said, "In the case of the reason for termination of the contract between shareholders, the destruction of trust is also a serious violation," adding, "Hive holds 80% of the ADOR's stake, so Min Hee-jin can be dismissed at any time, and if he violates it to limit it, he will be dismissed or resigned." This includes more than 1 billion won in damages and embezzlement of breach of trust. Min Hee-jin can exercise his put options after three years and 10 months of ADOR's establishment, while Hive has transferred 20% of his stake in ADOR and made him bear the obligation to serve for five years and ban competition. Put options are estimated to be around 100 billion won after 2025. The freedom of dismissal and termination is recognized in the director delegation contract. Trust and monetary interests are strongly considered over time," he explained.

"Min Hee-jin argues that it should not be admitted, but the ability to prove is recognized because the information was obtained according to the voluntary return of the parties in accordance with the Hive subsidiary's work audit process," he said. "Min Hee-jin is recognized for seeking a way to independently dominate ADOR." It seems that he planned to leave the ADOR with consent in anticipation of the breakdown of negotiations on the contract between shareholders. This fact alone cannot be regarded as a serious violation of the contract between shareholders. If the negotiations break down, it seems that they tried to buy the stake in ADOR at a low price, saying that if they exercise the put option and go out, it will become an empty shell, and the purchase price seems to be around 800 billion won to 1.5 trillion won. Through this, I think we have established a plan to participate in the stake," he explained.

The court said, "Min Hee-jin's departure is a serious reason, but it is difficult to judge whether it will be an empty shell or not based on the contents submitted. Assuming that it becomes an empty shell, I said I will exercise put options and go out and make a men's NewJeans if I don't compensate properly," he said. "ADOR's value within two years is 2 trillion won, and the only girl group that can compare to NewJeans is Black Pink, and YG's market cap was also about 1.8 trillion won when Black Pink's world tour profits were reflected." The accusation of Min Hee-jin's breach of trust due to the fall of KRW 800 billion in Hive's market capitalization is due to the decline in market value following Min Hee-jin's departure, and it seems to be due to the impact after the conflict between Hive and Min Hee-jin appeared," he said.

Regarding the issue of plagiarism in ILLIT, "According to the report, we believe that the performance immediately after ILLIT's debut is similar to that of NewJeans." Parents of NewJeans also filed a petition for this, but their arguments are opinions on similarities and cannot be admitted as a mistake in the premise of facts. It is difficult to say that Bilibrap has failed to provide more evidence for the refutation that it is "not similar" and that the controversy has completely subsided.

"We believe that both Min Hee-jin's press conference and the announcement of the official position after that are based on the two sides' right to object," the court said. "Considering that the allegations of copying and pushing appear justified and possible conflicts of interest between shareholders, the conflict was expressed by invoking the right to audit after raising the issue through internal e-mails. "It is clear that 25.6 billion put options will be lost, and it is difficult to say that there has been a serious breach of the contract in this regard."

After announcing his position in November 2024, former CEO Min Hee-jin announced that he would resign as an in-house director of ADOR, he immediately notified the exercise of about 26 billion won in put options (the right to buy and sell stocks at a certain time at a predetermined price) and filed a lawsuit for payment accordingly. The legal value amounts to 28.7 billion won.

The put option is one of the key elements of former CEO Min Hee-jin's inter-shareholder contract with Hive, and under the contract, ADOR's average operating profit multiplied by 13 times in the previous two years can receive an amount equivalent to 75% of its stake from Hive. According to the ADOR audit report released in April 2024, former CEO Min Hee-jin holds 573,160 shares (18 percent) in the ADOR. Based on this calculation, former CEO Min Hee-jin is known to receive about 26 billion won. However, Hive said it notified former CEO Min Hee-jin of the termination of the contract between shareholders, which is the basis for the put option, in July 2024.

In a statement released at the time, former CEO Min Hee-jin said, "We will terminate the inter-shareholder contract signed with Hive and hold Hive legally responsible for violations of the inter-shareholder contract," adding, "We will take necessary legal measures one by one for the numerous illegalities of Hive and its people." "Despite the hellish dispute with Hive that began with Hive's illegal audit for more than seven months, I have been doing everything I can to keep the contracts between shareholders and return ADOR to where it was before (illegal audit). However, Hive has so far refused to admit his wrongdoing and there is no sign of change, so I decided that further efforts were a waste of time," he explained.

Former CEO Min Hee-jin said, "Hive's 2024 atrocities will be recorded as an unprecedented issue in K-pop history," adding, "A person's malicious behavior should not undermine the 'essence of business'. It was really bad," he added.

In response, Hive claimed that the shareholder contract was terminated in July 2024, and responded by saying that Min Hee-jin's put option rights were also extinguished.

Former representative Min Hee-jin appeared at the court in September 2025 in a large taxi for the person concerned's own newspaper, drawing attention. Former representative Min Hee-jin entered the courtroom without answering reporters' questions, and CLO (Chief Legal Officer) Jung Jin-soo attended as a witness on Hive's side. It was the first time the two sides have met face-to-face since Hive began an audit of former representative Min Hee-jin in April 2024.

CLO Jung Jin-soo, who served as a witness, disclosed Min Hee-jin's suspicious activities, citing former CEO Min Hee-jin's request to increase the number of put options from 13 times to 30 times, receiving a tip that he was planning for independence, and finding various documents that Min Hee-jin was writing at the time as a result of the ADOR audit. It also claimed that Min Hee-jin met with Japanese investors and received advice regarding shareholder contracts, although it did not disclose his personal information.

In response, former CEO Min Hee-jin asked, "Isn't it a strange thing for a company's representative to meet an investor?" but Jung Jin-soo said, "The intention is a little different," believing that Min Hee-jin hid the meeting with the investor. Min Hee-jin, former CEO, also directly responded, "perjury," when CLO Jung Jin-soo claimed that he expressed the possibility of changing some of the shareholders' contracts, including the clause banning competition.

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*This content was translated by AI.