Why Min Hee-jin Needs to Provide Specific Explanation for “Shaman Management” Controversy

The dispute between HYBE and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin can now be described as a long-term war. Various controversies have arisen, but since no clear explanations have followed, suspicions are only piling up.

Among the various controversies, one drew particular attention. In particular, there were screenshots of a conversation in which Min Hee-jin could be seen consulting with a shaman about process of selecting members for NewJeans and talking about spending tens of millions of won on a ritual.

At the time, HYBE claimed that Min Hee-jin was overly reliant on a female shaman, even believing that her deceased sister possessed the said shaman and reportedly having 58,000 conversations with the shaman over six months, sparking a “shaman management controversy”.

In fact, it is not a crime to be acquainted with a shaman, but relying on a shaman for management advice may be harmful to a manager who needed to make rational decisions like Min Hee-jin. On top of that, it was revealed that Min Hee-jin’s shaman has run away, rousing even more doubts about the former ADOR CEO’s trustworthiness and rationality.

What’s more peculiar is how a person who believe in a shaman to such an extend to suddenly reveal her religious beliefs by repeatedly mentioning “God” during a lecture.

Specifically, back on September 27th of 2024, Min Hee-jin gave a lecture at the “2024 Hyundai Card Da Vinci Motel” event in Itaewon, Seoul, titled “Breaking the Formula of K-pop: Min Hee-jin’s Freestyle”. This marked her first public appearance since being removed from her CEO position on August 27th, drawing much attention to her remarks. Over the course of more than two hours, she led the talk with her characteristic candidness.

What stood out the most were her frequent mentions of “God”, revealing her religious beliefs. Some of her statements included:

“I think God wanted to help me overcome my trauma”, “I hate it, but God says to me, ‘You can handle it.’ Since I believe He only gives me what I can manage, I think there’s a reason for this, and I’ll deal with it”, “Because I believe in God, I can’t do XX, because it might seem like arrogance”, “God will take care of everything. No matter how much we talk about it, no one truly understands the pain but God”…

This raised eyebrows, especially since Min Hee-jin has been linked to shamans and labeled with terms like “shamanistic management”. The stark contrast between her reliance on shamans and frequent mention of God was perplexing.

From a Christian perspective, Min Hee-jin’s actions are considered acts of disbelief, as the Bible strictly forbids shamanistic practices. Even casual engagement with shamanism can unconsciously lead to reliance on divination, which is viewed as idolatry.

Some argue that Min Hee-jin might be mentioning God to suppress the controversy surrounding her shamanistic management practices. If so, this would be considered blasphemous.

It is thus more crucial than ever for Min Hee-jin to clarify the shaman management controversy.