On February 12, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court delivered a verdict that sent ripples through the South Korean entertainment industry: Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of Adore and current head of OK Records, had prevailed in her high-stakes legal battle against entertainment giant HYBE. The ruling not only awarded Min a hefty sum—approximately 25.5 billion KRW (about $19 million) for exercising her put option—but also dismissed HYBE’s attempt to terminate their shareholder agreement, marking a significant chapter in the ongoing corporate drama that has captivated K-pop watchers for years.
The dispute traces its roots back to 2021, when Adore was launched as a HYBE subsidiary with Min at the helm. Following the meteoric debut of the girl group NewJeans in 2022, Min negotiated a shareholder agreement with HYBE in March 2023. This agreement granted her a put option: should she choose to leave, she could sell her stake in Adore to HYBE at a price calculated as 13 times the company’s average operating profit over the previous two years, multiplied by her shareholding. With Adore swinging from a 4 billion KRW loss in 2022 to a 33.5 billion KRW profit in 2023, the put option’s value soared to an estimated 25.5 to 26 billion KRW.
Trouble began brewing in 2024. HYBE accused Min of damaging Adore and NewJeans, claiming she was plotting to privatize both the company and the group. In July 2024, HYBE declared the shareholder agreement terminated and, a month later, removed Min from her CEO post. Min, for her part, argued she had not breached the agreement and that any efforts to seek independence for Adore were always contingent on HYBE’s consent. In November 2024, she resigned as an internal director and officially notified HYBE of her intention to exercise the put option, setting the stage for a legal showdown.
The courtroom drama centered on two main questions: Was there a serious breach of contract by Min that justified HYBE’s termination of the shareholder agreement? And, if not, was Min entitled to the put option payout? According to The Hankyoreh, the court considered both HYBE’s lawsuit to confirm the contract’s termination and Min’s countersuit for the put option payout in tandem, given that both revolved around the same contract.
HYBE’s case rested on allegations that Min had attempted to “poach” NewJeans and orchestrate a management takeover. The company pointed to KakaoTalk messages and internal discussions as evidence, arguing that Min’s contacts with external investors and her supposed plans to leave Adore with NewJeans in tow constituted a fundamental breach. However, the court found these arguments lacking. As reported by Yonhap News Agency, the judge concluded, “Min sought ways to make Adore independent, but this did not seriously violate the shareholder agreement.” The court further noted that all of Min’s plans assumed HYBE’s approval, and without such consent, they would have no effect.
One particularly contentious point was the interpretation of the phrase “empty shell,” which appeared in Min’s messages. HYBE insisted this was code for stripping Adore of its most valuable asset—NewJeans—before leaving. The court, after reviewing the full context, disagreed. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, the judge stated, “The ‘empty shell’ comments refer to Adore without Min after exercising the put option, not to Adore without NewJeans.” This distinction proved crucial, as it undermined HYBE’s narrative of a planned group exodus.
The court also addressed Min’s allegations of plagiarism and “pushing out” (i.e., manipulating album releases) involving rival group Ailead and Adore’s own releases. HYBE argued these public statements harmed the company and breached the contract. Yet, the court sided with Min, finding her actions fell within the reasonable scope of a CEO’s business judgment and did not amount to a serious contract violation. As Money Today Broadcasting reported, “The plagiarism and album pushing out issues were not considered serious breaches by the court.”
Evidence presented during the trial included not only messenger chats but also a review of Min’s performance as CEO. The court found no indication that Min had harmed Adore’s growth or profitability. In fact, despite the ongoing dispute, Min continued to release and promote albums in both South Korea and Japan, fulfilling her executive duties. This was noted as a positive factor in the ruling, with the court observing that Min “fulfilled CEO duties, including album releases, during the dispute.”
Beyond Min herself, the ruling extended to her close associates: a former vice president and a former director of Adore, who were each awarded 1.7 billion KRW and 1.4 billion KRW respectively for their own put option claims. The total sum HYBE was ordered to pay thus approached 28.7 billion KRW.
HYBE, for its part, maintained throughout the proceedings that the shareholder agreement had been terminated in July 2024 and that, therefore, it was under no obligation to honor the put option. The company argued that Min’s attempts to seek outside investors and her alleged “poaching” of NewJeans constituted a breakdown in trust and a serious breach. However, as JoongAng Ilbo noted, the court found “no serious contract breach by Min justifying termination.” The judge even pointed out that former HYBE CEO Park Ji-won did not take immediate action upon learning of Min’s meetings with external investors, suggesting that even within HYBE, there was no consensus that a serious breach had occurred.
The verdict left HYBE on the defensive, its claims largely rejected by the court. Yet, the company’s next move remains uncertain. Most observers, including News1, believe HYBE is likely to appeal, potentially dragging the dispute through higher courts for months or even years to come. The stakes are high—not just financially, but for the future of Adore, NewJeans, and the broader structure of artist-label relationships in the ever-evolving K-pop industry.
This ruling, while a clear victory for Min Hee-jin, is unlikely to be the final word. As legal experts and industry insiders watch closely, the outcome of any appeal could further reshape the power dynamics between creative leaders and corporate giants in South Korea’s music business. For now, though, Min stands vindicated by the courts, her rights—and her substantial payout—secure, at least for the moment.