(ANN/KOREA HERALD) – Ahead of Ador’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on Friday to decide on the dismissal of CEO Min Hee-jin, NewJeans fans and Hybe staffers are rallying their support by submitting petitions to the Seoul Central District Court.
In a petition submitted on May 24, NewJeans fans urged that Min should remain as CEO until it is legally proven that she acted unlawfully. “Until it is legally concluded that Min acted unlawfully, the contract terms signed between Min and Hybe should be respected and we hope she remains the CEO of Ador. We know that is what NewJeans wants, and we support the group’s stance,” the petition read. Min’s lawyer filed the fans’ petition after gathering 10,000 signatures in just 16 hours.
Min and NewJeans members also submitted their petitions to the court during the hearing on the preliminary injunction filed by Min on May 17. Min had requested the court to prohibit Hybe from exercising its voting rights in the upcoming meeting, where Hybe, holding 80 per cent of Ador’s shares, is expected to approve her removal.
Ador staff also showed their support for Min by submitting a petition last Tuesday. Meanwhile, representatives and staff from Hybe subsidiaries, including Pledis Entertainment founder Han Sung-soo, Source Music CEO So Sung-jin, BTS’ producer Pdogg, and BTS and Le Sserafim’s creative director Kim Sung-hyun, have filed petitions supporting Hybe. They argued that protecting the company’s multi-label system is crucial and that Min’s actions are driven by personal interest, which could destabilize the entire entertainment industry.
However, legal experts suggest that it is unlikely the court will side with Min, as preventing Hybe from exercising its voting rights would infringe on shareholder rights. “Unless there is a solid reason, let’s say something definitely illegal, to prevent shareholders from exercising voting rights, the chance of the court granting Min’s injunction is very slim. The petitions submitted by NewJeans members and their fans may be taken into consideration by the judges, but they will have a small impact on the result,” said Lee Jae-kyoung, a professor at Konkuk University Law School and the president of the Korea Entertainment Law Society.
