The police have concluded that Min Hee Jin, former CEO of ADOR, is not guilty of the breach of trust allegations brought against her by parent company HYBE.
On July 15 KST, Min Hee Jin’s side stated, “The Seoul Yongsan Police Station has ruled that Min Hee Jin committed no wrongdoing regarding the breach of trust accusations filed by HYBE in April 2024. After over a year of investigation, both cases submitted by HYBE were dismissed without charges.”
Min Hee Jin previously appeared at Yongsan Police Station and underwent approximately eight hours of questioning. She told reporters, “I’ll speak truthfully,” and commented, “Calling this breach of trust doesn’t even make sense.” After her interrogation, she added, “I asked to be questioned first. I’m impatient and had a lot to say,” and when asked if she had additional evidence to submit, she replied, “We have a lot.” Her attorney confirmed that more would be submitted later.
Min expressed relief following the investigation, stating, “I feel better for telling the truth. From my perspective, this entire breach of trust situation was almost comedic.”
HYBE had launched an internal audit of ADOR in April 2024, alleging that Min Hee Jin attempted to seize control of the company. On April 26, HYBE filed a police complaint, accusing Min of trying to usurp ADOR’s management rights despite being a minority shareholder. Min strongly denied the claims, asserting that the company’s ownership structure made a takeover impossible.
HYBE later moved to dismiss Min and ADOR’s current board members via an emergency shareholders’ meeting. In response, Min filed for an injunction to block HYBE’s voting rights, which the Seoul Central District Court approved.
In its ruling, the court stated, “Based on the evidence presented so far, HYBE has not sufficiently proven the reasons for dismissal.” It acknowledged that “Min clearly explored ways to reduce HYBE’s control over ADOR and sought independent governance, especially regarding NewJeans,” but emphasized that these actions did not constitute a criminal breach of trust. The court also noted the urgency of the shareholder meeting and the potential irreparable harm to Min’s position, justifying the injunction.
With the police now officially dismissing HYBE’s criminal complaint, Min Hee Jin appears to have won a major legal and public battle.
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