Min Hee-jin Dismissed Investment Claims as Groundless, but Dabolink Chairman Said Otherwise
On January 9, media outlet Ten Asia reported an exclusive interview with Dabolink Chairman Park Jeong-gyu.
According to the report, Chairman Park received a request for an investment of about 5 billion won (approx 3.4 million USD) to Min Hee-jin through the uncle of a member of NewJeans, Mr. A, around August of last year. The investment discussions fell through as the two sides failed to narrow their differences.
However, in an email to the press last year, Min Hee-jin claimed otherwise about the invest, stating, “Due to the recent circulation of groundless rumors about me and subsequent inquiries, I feel compelled to clarify my position.“
She explained, “Among the various rumors brought to my attention via media reports, I heard that the claim ‘I decided to receive investment from someone’ or ‘I decided to sign a contract with someone’ has been circulating within the investment industry. I was also informed that a specific company name was mentioned, but none of this is true.”
She added, “I want to firmly state that I have not had any contact or exchanged any opinions with the mentioned company or any other organization.”
Finally, Min Hee-jin emphasized, “I want to prevent any potential harm to innocent parties or misuse of HYBE as a source of further conflict. Therefore, I am clearly stating my position to put an end to these baseless rumors, and I hope there is no misunderstanding.”
Meanwhile, Min Hee Jin shared her thoughts after receiving the court’s dismissal of her provisional injunction ahead of a board meeting concerning her reappointment as CEO.
A dismissal refers to the procedure in which a case is concluded without a judgment when the lawsuit does not meet the legal requirements or align with the conditions stipulated by law.
Regarding the decision, the court explained, “Even if HYBE directs the board of directors to vote in favor of appointing Min Hee Jin as CEO, the directors must determine and decide based on their duty of care. It is difficult to see the directors as being legally obligated to follow HYBE’s instructions, and since granting the injunction would not result in legal effects, the provisional application is ultimately without merit and therefore improper.”
Following the ruling, Min Hee Jin appeared on the live broadcast and stated, “This wasn’t about determining right or wrong, and even winning would have been tough. There are aspects of the law that feel like wordplay. I won the first provisional injunction for upholding the shareholder agreement, but there’s this dilemma about whether HYBE and ADOR are one and the same entity,” adding, “The reason I filed the injunction was to prove my innocence and integrity. I wanted to push until I had no options left. Contrary to what HYBE claims, I never intended to leave.”
Min Hee Jin also expressed, “Still, I was curious if it would work. Even the lawyers said there were no precedents for this, and they estimated my chances of winning at only 10-20%. From my perspective, it was a way of giving HYBE one more chance. Since it would be hard for me to back down, I thought if I could step down this way, maybe my pride would allow me to accept it.”