PETALING JAYA, Aug 30 — The legal firm representing former ADOR CEO Min Hee-Jin in the ongoing dispute with South Korean entertainment giants HYBE and music label ADOR has branded a producing commission contract sent as unfair.
Sejong Law Firm, through media relations firm Macoll Consulting Group said on August 27, ADOR's board announced that Hee-Jin would continue to handle producing duties for NewJeans.
“However, this statement was publicly announced against Min Hee-Jin's will and reflects HYBE's unilateral media play.
“On August 28, Kim Ju Young, chair of ADOR's executive board, sent Min Hee-Jin a ‘Producing Commission Agreement’. There are many components to this contract which are unilateral and unreasonable, making it difficult to understand logically.”
Hee-Jin has been caught up in n a dispute with HYBE over allegations that she had plotted to seize control of ADOR and take popular girl group NewJeans with her.
HYBE, which owns 80 percent of ADOR's shares, previously attempted to remove Hee-Jin as CEO through a shareholders' meeting in May, but she retained her seat after a local court granted an injunction against HYBE's plan.
Just days ago, ADOR announced the replacement of Hee-Jin, which she called a “unilateral dismissal” made against her will.
Meanwhile, Sejong also pointed out the contract period specified in the agreement from August 27 to November 1, totaled a mere two months and six days.
“After successfully completing a fan meeting at the Tokyo Dome in June, NewJeans is planning a world tour in 2025.
“The fact that this agreement proposes that production for a world tour be completed in just 2 months is bewildering. This demonstrates the newly appointed ADOR board's lack of understanding of key tasks required in the industry.”
It stated that the “unreasonable contract period suggests ADOR’s claim that ‘all decisions are in the best interest of NewJeans’ is clearly fictitious and meant for media play.”
“The producing commission agreement is filled with clauses allowing ADOR to unilaterally terminate the contract at any time.
The two-month contract period can be shortened at ADOR’s (or effectively HYBE’s) discretion. The contract stipulates that ADOR can immediately terminate the agreement if they deem Hee-Jin’s performance to be inadequate, with no objective grounds or criteria specified”.
It said the contract allows for immediate termination if it is deemed difficult to maintain the contract due to ADOR’s (or HYBE’s) business conditions, or if so judged necessary by ADOR’s CEO. In other words, ADOR (or HYBE) can terminate the contract at any time, for any reason.
It was also pointed out that contrary to the stated principle of separating ‘management and producing,’ the commission contract shows contradictions, such as allowing termination if ‘management performance is deemed significantly poor’.
“The contract is simply filled with unreasonable clauses, such as a non-competition period six times longer than the two-month contract period.
“Nevertheless, the act of sending such an unreasonable contract raises doubts about whether HYBE genuinely wishes to continue entrusting Min Hee-Jin with the production of NewJeans. This can only be interpreted as an attempt to deliberately ‘entice a rejection of the commission contract’ and set up another media play,” it added.
“The ADOR board has demanded that this unreasonable contract be signed by August 30. However, Min Hee-Jin has determined that she cannot sign it.
“Simultaneously, this statement aims to address any further distortions in media reporting that may arise after her decision to reject ADOR's contract.”
Meanwhile HYBE/ADOR responded quickly saying the two-month period stipulated in the producing commission contract matched Hee-Jin's current term as an internal director at ADOR, which will conclude on November 1 after three years.
“If her term is renewed, then the commission contract can also proceed forward with a renewal.”
Refuting claims that the contract could be terminated at any time, for any reason, they said, “It is a minimum safety measure that is included in the contracts of all internal directors.”
“If there are disagreements about the contract terms, it is more appropriate to consult with the board internally than to issue a public statement. We intended to send a draft of the contract so that Min Jee Jin could discuss its terms with the CEO, so it is regrettable that this information was publicised.”
HYBE/DOR did not comment on whether or not Hee-Jin would continue to serve as a producer for NewJeans, as reported by Allkpop.
