The first update of the HYBE/ADOR mess in 2025 comes due to news tied to the last update. Following rumors that Min Hee Jin had ties to DAVOLINK in an attempt to find NewJeans a new landing place, the chairman of the company himself (Park Jeong Gyu) has now confirmed the speculation, as the mess continues rolling downhill unabated.
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Min Hee Jin’s involvement with the company allegedly dates back to August of last year after she was removed as ADOR CEO, as the chairman says that the uncle of NewJeans’ Hyein served as mediator and he heard her on speakerphone.
“On a Sunday in late August, I got a call from Mr. B while I was playing golf. He said I had to meet him today and that he would wait in front of my house. Listening to him, he asked me to invest ₩5.00 billion KRW (about $3.43 million USD) to Min. This offer was so sudden, so I said I couldn’t do it as it was a big risk and not something I could decide right away.
“I met him the next day and made a counteroffer. I suggested they take DAVOLINK instead, as I thought we could secure enough investment funds by utilizing the capital market. I made this decision so that I could also make a profit. Mr. B then called Min and put her on speakerphone. But as soon as she answered, she asked, ‘Did everything go well?’ This meant that she knew about the ₩5.00 billion KRW (about $3.43 million USD) investment proposal.”
The chairman then says he met with Min Hee Jin on September 30 to discuss how to transfer DAVOLINK, and that in the meeting they discussed whether he thought she could take NewJeans out of ADOR.
He explained that Min asked, “Do you think I can take NewJeans out from there?” To this, Park felt they would have to throw away the group first to take them out. He explained, “I advised that if she leaves ADOR, the company’s value will plummet and that only then she could take NewJeans out.”
He says the convo was three hours and most of it was about Min Hee Jin’s conflict with HYBE and Bang Si Hyuk, including her allegedly calling him a “fucking pig”.
Regardless, obviously the investment did not go through. However, when Min Hee Jin denied that she never met with an investor, the stock of the Davolink fell due to the rumors and caused the chairman to take financial losses. The rub on the stock stuff is that Davolink is speculated to have leaked the rumors themselves in August to boost stock prices (with Lee Jae Myung as well, allegedly), and it indeed tripled since then, at least before the aforementioned denial happened.
When TenAsia’s first interview with the chairman took place “late last year”, they requested comment from Min Hee Jin, who flatly denied it.
We want to make it clear that Chairman Park Jeong Gyu’s claims about Min Hee Jin are false. Min has never discussed investment plans with Park and has never proposed an investment.
This is the follow-up interview with the chairman given due to their conflicting stances, and Min Hee Jin’s side has denied it as untrue again, though without details as of yet.
The reporter speculates that the reason she is denying it completely is that discussing this while still being internal director at ADOR could have ramifications for HYBE’s breach of trust lawsuit against Min Hee Jin, not to mention potential tampering with NewJeans.
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While I have no problem believing that the motives of a company chairman could be greedy and that they were leaking stuff for their own financial benefit, I don’t think that’s really the core of the issue. The company can be shady, but the question is whether any meeting happened and whether she indeed discussed plans for taking NewJeans out while still working at ADOR. There’s a picture of her entering the building allegedly on September 30, so I don’t think a blanket denial is gonna cut it, especially if it comes up in court where this will really matter. If her side doesn’t explain further, then I suppose we’ll just have to see what comes out legally (which is kind of what I’ve been saying for a while now, but I digress).
