Ador to hold extraordinary shareholders meeting May 31 to decide CEO's fate

Ador CEO Min Hee-jin speaks during a press conference in Seoul, April 25. Yonhap

Min Hee-jin clashes with HYBE over ‘illegal’ audit of employee

The Ador board meeting convened Friday decided to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on May 31, where the dismissal of Ador CEO Min Hee-jin will be tabled as requested by its parent company HYBE.

As disclosed Friday by Ador’s legal representative, Shin & Kim Law Firm, “the decision to hold the shareholders meeting on May 31 was made under the attendance of all board members (including Min) today.”

The forthcoming meeting is expected to vote on whether or not to dismiss Min.

If the meeting proceeds as planned, industry insiders expect a strong possibility that the current CEO of Ador will be removed from her position, given that HYBE holds a controlling 80 percent stake in Ador.

However, Min took proactive legal action Tuesday by filing for an injunction against HYBE to block the company from exercising its rights in the upcoming meeting, saying that it should not be allowed to vote in favor of her dismissal proposal based on the shareholders’ agreement between them.

If the court grants the hearing for this injunction, scheduled for next Friday, HYBE’s efforts to dismiss Min would be halted.

Last month, HYBE accused Min and Ador’s management of attempting to spin off from the parent company, prompting an emergency audit.

HYBE reported the Ador employees to the Yongsan Police Station on April 25, saying that it gathered significant evidence of embezzlement.

Min, however, vehemently denied the allegations later that day in a press conference.

Additionally, HYBE sought court permission to organize an extraordinary shareholders meeting to discuss Min’s dismissal, while Ador, citing time constraints, unsuccessfully attempted to reschedule its hearing for April 30.

During the hearing, Ador reaffirmed its commitment to hold a board meeting on May 10 and convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting by the end of May.

Friday’s board meeting saw the Ador CEO fulfilling this pledge.

A woman points to the headquarters of HYBE, the agency of K-pop supergroup BTS, in Yongsan District, Seoul, April 23. Yonhap

‘Illegal’ audit

The board meeting occurred amid a tense standoff, with Ador saying HYBE conducted “an illegal audit” the night before and HYBE responding there were no issues with the audit.

The sublabel issued a statement Friday alleging that HYBE “mistreated and harassed” by commencing an audit on an Ador employee after their regular work hours at around 7 p.m. Thursday.

The audit took over five hours, continuing past midnight into the early hours of Friday, the statement said.

According to Ador, HYBE followed a director of Ador’s styling department to their residence and demanded access to their laptop and personal cell phone.

HYBE made threats of police involvement if the director didn’t cooperate, Ador said.

The audit was prompted by allegations that the director received payments from outside advertisers instead of incentives from Ador. While HYBE viewed this as embezzlement, Ador said this did not cause financial harm to the company.

Ador noted that such practice is a “common industry custom” for directors to receive payments from advertisers instead of incentives from the company and that HYBE was fully notified in advance.

HYBE countered Ador’s claims, saying the audit was legal.

“The audit conducted on the director was carried out legally with the consent of the auditee, and all procedures were undergone in a non-coercive atmosphere,” it said in a press release later on Friday.

The company criticized Ador’s characterization of such practices as an industry custom, adding, “There is no practice where company employees directly receive profits from advertisers … Transferring amounts that should be recognized as company revenue privately and condoning it for years is not a custom but a blatant illegality.”

K-pop girl group NewJeans / Courtesy of Ador

NewJeans’ whereabouts

Amid heightened tensions, members of NewJeans, the girl group produced by Min, began indirectly sharing their thoughts surrounding the turmoil.

NewJeans member Minji took to Phoning, an online fan communication platform Monday, attempting to ease fans’ concerns by saying, “Don’t cry, everyone. There will only be happy things.”

Member Danielle also expressed her feelings Wednesday, saying, “My heart feels heavy these days.”

NewJeans is set to return to the music scene on May 24 with a new album titled “How Sweet.” This will be followed by the release of their debut single in Japan next month, along with a fan meeting at Tokyo Dome.