Min Hee-jin pushes back against claims she pressured staff politically
Min Hee-jin / Xportsnews
Former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin has publicly refuted allegations that she once urged employees not to support the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), calling the accusation a distortion of comments she made years before her label even existed.
On Nov. 28, Min posted a lengthy statement saying, “I have always supported the DPK and I personally voted for President Moon Jae-in. I never imagined my disappointment with the real estate policy in 2020 would be twisted like this.”
She added that those close to her are well aware of her long-standing support for current President Lee Jae Myung dating back to his years as Seongnam mayor. “I attended impeachment rallies and consistently sent supplies to protesters,” she said. “I don’t understand what kind of framing this is based on a private KakaoTalk conversation. And 2020 was before ADOR was even founded.”
Min also uploaded a video that appears to show her at a rally calling for former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, along with a photo of herself taken on June 3 during the country’s snap presidential election. In the image, she stands in front of a blue backdrop wearing a pale blue shirt and carrying a large blue bag — colors associated with the DPK.
Allegations resurface in court
The controversy intensified on Nov. 27 during a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, where two civil suits between HYBE and Min are underway: HYBE’s request to confirm the termination of a shareholder agreement, and Min’s claim for stock repurchase payment tied to her put option.
During cross-examination, HYBE’s legal team presented a post from an office-worker community board. The post alleged that before an election, Min told staff not to vote for the DPK and even reprimanded an employee for three hours after learning they had done so.
HYBE also submitted KakaoTalk messages in which Min allegedly wrote to an employee, “Why did you vote for the DPK?”, “If there’s no party to vote for, you shouldn’t vote. Like me,” and “Why vote when you don’t even know well?”
Min countered that both the community post and the KakaoTalk messages date back to around December 2020 — again insisting this was before ADOR existed and therefore unrelated to her leadership at the company.
Min accuses HYBE of political framing
Min further released excerpts of comments from the judge, HYBE’s lawyers, her own legal team, and herself during the hearing. She argued that HYBE was “trying to impose an irrelevant political frame on the case,” adding that she refrained from responding in court only because the judge said the matter lacked relevance.
HYBE and Min remain locked in an ongoing legal dispute over the shareholder agreement and the put-option payment, with both sides expected to continue their courtroom battle in the coming months.
This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.