South Korea’s HYBE last week confirmed that it has reopened an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment at its Ador label. Specifically, it is looking into whether the label’s former CEO, Min Hee-jin, inappropriately interfered in the original investigation.
Reports of that new inquiry emerged as Min spoke at an event in Seoul where she restated her wish to be reappointed as CEO at Ador, as well as heading up all creative projects of Ador-signed NewJeans in her role as producer.
During a lecture at the Seoul event on Friday, Min claimed that separating her management and production roles at Ador made no sense. HYBE “ordering me to just be a producer proves just how ignorant they are of the job”, she added, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
Min was pushed out of the CEO role at Ador last month. At the time, HYBE announced that Min would stay on in a creative role as producer of NewJeans’ upcoming projects. Min then announced that that had not been agreed, that a new contract offered by Ador to that effect was not acceptable, and that she wanted to be reappointed as CEO.
The members of NewJeans sided with Min, demanding her reinstatement as Ador CEO by no later than 25 Sep. That didn't happen, although Ador did announce it would reinstate Min as a director at the label amid reports it had also improved the terms of her producer contract. Given her comments on Friday, it seems unlikely Min will accept that proposal.
Which means Min’s legal battle with HYBE will continue. She also revealed on Friday that her costs from that legal battle have now exceeded $1.7 million. “I’m not as rich as you think and I’m going to sell the house because of the expenses”, she revealed. But, she said, she remains optimistic that she will ultimately win. It’s a law of nature, she reckoned, that “lies, no matter how exaggerated or big they are, are brought forth to light eventually”.
The allegations of sexual harassment now subject to another inquiry involved a Vice President at Ador and are related to an incident that occurred earlier this year.
According to Billboard, which cites an internal HYBE document, a female employee at Ador claimed she had been pressured by the VP to attend a client dinner in February, having been told it would be “beneficial to have a young woman present”. The VP then left the dinner somewhat abruptly, leaving the employee alone with the client. This created “an uncomfortable situation” that “seemed orchestrated”, the employee stated in a formal complaint.
An initial investigation by HYBE’s human resources team concluded that the claims of sexual harassment couldn’t be proven, but the VP was nevertheless given a “stern warning” about his conduct. The female employee has seemingly left the label and since launched legal action.
The new investigation is focused on how Min responded to the original allegations when still Ador CEO. It’s alleged she violated HYBE’s HR procedures by organising her own meeting attended by both the complainant and the VP. She also issued a statement in response to media coverage of the allegations in which she shared some information about the affected employee, including her salary. The employee then sued for defamation and privacy violations.
Min has denied any wrongdoing regarding the sexual harassment allegations, insisting that her statements at the time didn’t reveal the indentities of the employees involved, and that it was statements from HYBE that made that information public. Meanwhile, the final decision in the original investigation was made by Kim Ju Young, who was HYBE’s HR chief at the time and has since replaced Min as Ador CEO.