Former Representative Min. (Photo = Reporter Kim Min-gyu [email protected])
Min Hee-jin, former CEO and executive director of Adore, is leaving Hive.
On the 20th, former CEO Min said in an official statement, “Today, I am resigning from my position as an executive director of Adore. “We also intend to terminate the shareholder agreement signed with Hive and hold Hive legally responsible for any violations of the shareholder agreement.”
Former CEO Min emphasized that he tried to keep the contract between shareholders amid the dispute that began with Hive’s illegal audit in April and continued for more than seven months. However, the reason former CEO Min decided to leave Hive was Hive’s unreflective attitude and the spread of outrageous false information.
Former CEO Min said, “They framed me, a minority shareholder and CEO, as a ‘usurpation of management rights,’ witch-hunted me, and made ignorant and unreasonable attacks that made it difficult to believe that this was a large company.” He added, “It was only after about seven months that my whistle-blowing became clear.” “It is being revealed that it was a fair accusation based on facts,” he said.
He added, “This rare event is not over yet, but I am grateful with all my heart to the Bunnies (New Jeans fandom name) and many other people who have given me tireless support and encouragement over the past half year.”
Lastly, former CEO Min asked people to pay a lot of attention to the new K-pop journey that will unfold in the future after leaving Hive, emphasizing that “one person’s malicious actions should not damage the ‘essence of the business’.”
Below is the full statement of former Representative Min.
hello. This is former representative Min.
Today, I resign from my position as an executive director at Adore.
In addition, we intend to terminate the shareholder contract with Hive and hold Hive legally responsible for any violations of the shareholder contract.
In addition, we plan to take necessary legal action one by one against the numerous illegal activities of Hive and its associates.
Despite the hellish dispute with Hive that started last April due to an illegal audit of Hive and has continued for over 7 months, I have done everything I can to keep the shareholder agreement and get Adore back on track as it was before April. I have done my best. However, since Hive has not yet acknowledged its mistake and shows no signs of changing, we decided that further efforts would be a waste of time.
I hoped that Hive would admit its own mistakes, and I have worked hard to protect Newgenes within the crooked Hive. This is also the reason why I sent whistleblowing emails twice last April.
However, rather than reflecting, Hive commits an unprecedentedly foolish act of making up outrageous false facts and even displaying shameful illegal audits to the public. As a minority shareholder and CEO, they used the bizarre frame of ‘usurpation of management rights’ and conducted a witch hunt, making such ignorant and unreasonable attacks that it was hard to believe that this was a large company.
After many twists and turns, after about 7 months, it was revealed that my whistleblowing was a legitimate accusation based on clear facts, while Hive’s ugly lies and hypocrisy are being revealed one after another.
In fact, Hive would have known from the beginning that the contents of the whistleblowing were all true and that it was a legitimate issue.
However, for those who only care about their own interests and advancement, the essence of ‘problem solving’ may have been a task they wanted to ignore more than anything else.
I didn’t expect them to repent, but I think it was a naive misjudgment to believe that they would have at least a conscience as human beings.
However, just as being alive does not mean you are alive, I did not want to become complacent and join this twisted organization because of its obsession with money.
Until recently, Hive has been using its affiliated labels to try to bury me through barbaric lawsuits, nitpicking, and unfair media play, but at the same time, it is hypocritical and contradictory by imposing a production delegation contract full of toxic clauses as if it is doing an enormous favor. The action has continued.
They said they would discuss R&R, which is the essence of a business delegation contract, but they talked about a confidentiality agreement that included incomprehensible requirements such as forensic consent before consultation, and made an incomprehensible claim that only face-to-face meetings were required and R&R documents could not be provided. Repeatedly.
It is no longer surprising that those who spread the false information to the media that he had decided to step down from his position as CEO and take over producing duties despite the fact that he was unilaterally dismissed, have the unconscionability of forcing others to ‘maintain secrecy’.
The atrocities committed by Hive in 2024 will be recorded as an unprecedented incident in K-pop history.
For the past seven months, I have been fighting with all my might, mentally, financially, and physically, to revive Adore, which was ruined due to Hive’s serious violation of the shareholder agreement.
This means that even though it was a hellish fight that started with the groundless violence of a group disguised as a large corporation, they did not back down and made every effort.
Hive’s moral hazard has already reached its peak and the dirty media play will continue, but I am not worried that it has now reached a point where even the public can read the pattern.
Nevertheless, we inform you that we will not sit idly by and will punish by law if there are any forces or media that are causing unreasonable harm.
This rare event is not over yet, but I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many people, including Bernese, who have provided tireless support and encouragement over the past half year.
Ironically, I’ve also had the special fortune of getting to know some of the best people through fighting the worst companies.
Some people may not understand why I endured this long, but there may be a reason and meaning for why people like me exist in the world.
I hope you will pay close attention to the new K-pop journey I will embark on in the future.
I conclude this article by conveying the word to others with a relieved heart.
“One person’s malicious actions should not damage the ‘essence of karma.’ “It was really bad.”
1. Can you tell us about the background of the dispute between Adore and Hive, and your role as a former CEO during this time?
2. What were some of the major challenges you faced as a minority shareholder and CEO in trying to maintain the shareholder agreement amidst the dispute?
3. How did Hive’s actions and responses contribute to your decision to leave the company?
4. What are some of the key lessons or takeaways from this experience for you personally, and for the K-pop industry as a whole?
5. Looking forward, what do you see as the future of Newgenes and K-pop, given the recent events and controversies?