In a rare and candid interview published on April 14, 2026, Park Ji-won, the former CEO of entertainment giant HYBE, broke his silence on the contentious court battle with Min Hee-jin, the former head of ADORE and now CEO of OK Records. The dispute, which has gripped the K-pop industry since early 2024, centers on a put option agreement and allegations of unfair business practices, raising broader questions about trust and governance in South Korea’s booming entertainment sector.
According to Newsis, Park expressed disappointment that the court’s February 2026 ruling failed to reflect the full context of his statements and actions during the dispute. The court had sided with Min Hee-jin, validating her exercise of a put option and ordering HYBE to pay her approximately 25.5 billion KRW (about $19 million). HYBE has since appealed and sought a stay of enforcement, providing a large guarantee to the court to suspend execution, as reported by Top Star News.
One of the most debated points in the case was Park’s remark to Min, "If Hee-jin is not here, ADORE's value is zero." The court interpreted this as evidence that Min was essential to ADORE’s worth, bolstering her position in the dispute. However, Park insisted in his interview with Newsis that the statement was made to calm a dissatisfied subsidiary CEO during tense shareholder contract negotiations, not as a literal assessment of the company’s value. "The court took the expression at face value, and I regret that the management context was not fully reflected. While producers can have significant influence in the entertainment industry, it is inconceivable that a company becomes an empty shell just because one CEO leaves—especially in HYBE’s system-oriented management," he explained.
At the heart of the conflict was a renegotiation over the repurchase price of Min’s ADORE shares. HYBE had agreed to buy back her shares at 13 times the average operating profit over the previous two years, but Min requested a staggering 30 times multiple. Park described this demand as "impossible to accept," arguing that it would have allowed a single individual to extract nearly all the company’s profits. He clarified that his controversial comment was simply an attempt to keep negotiations on track: "The 30-times multiple requested by Min was a structure where virtually all company profits would go to one person, so it was unacceptable, but I tried not to give up on negotiations," he told Newsis.
Another flashpoint was Park’s KakaoTalk message—"Then let it be"—which the court interpreted as tacit approval of Min’s alleged plan to become ADORE’s majority shareholder via private equity and pursue an IPO. Park pushed back, saying he meant that as the majority shareholder, HYBE could simply refuse to sell its shares. "When I first heard the rumor, I thought it was hard to believe, given the level of support we had provided. The idea was, theoretically, if HYBE as the main shareholder doesn’t sell, that’s the end of it. So I said, ‘Then let it be,’ meaning, if she can do it, let her try. I had no idea at the time that there might be intentions to attack the company or force a low-price sale of shares," Park explained, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun.
Upon learning of the alleged plan, Park said he immediately shared all relevant conversations with HYBE’s legal team and began a fact-finding process. Internal investigations, as reported by Kyunghyang Shinmun, uncovered documents such as "Project 1945," which revealed plans for public opinion campaigns against other label artists—indicating that the dispute had escalated beyond simple business negotiations.
The court also addressed allegations of "album pushing"—the practice of inflating initial album sales numbers through conditional sales and returns, which is considered unfair manipulation under Korean law. The ruling cited evidence that, in 2023, two HYBE albums were distributed under returnable contracts, with 70,000 copies each ultimately returned (totaling 140,000). These figures were included in early sales tallies, a practice that can artificially boost chart rankings and is punishable by law. The court noted that Min and ADORE rejected HYBE’s proposals for such tactics, stating, "ADORE’s management philosophy is fundamentally opposed to such practices, and they firmly refused."
Park, however, defended HYBE’s actions, telling Top Star News, "There was a mismatch between demand forecasts and actual sales, leading to inventory buildup. As HYBE’s CEO, I proposed normal marketing strategies to address this." He added that promotional activities to clear excess stock, such as fan sign events, are standard in the industry. Park also pointed out that Min herself had previously organized similar promotions when ADORE faced excess inventory in Japan. "A perfect sales forecast is impossible, and promotions to make up for it are normal business practice," he said.
Backing up his claims, Park cited HYBE’s 2023 figures: 17 new albums released, 43.6 million copies sold, and only 140,000 returns—a return rate of just 0.32%. "In the unpredictable business of album sales, this is a very low rate," Park argued. He also emphasized that internal controls on such sales practices were strengthened well before the dispute with Min, and that returnable sales are a common contract form across industries.
Despite his efforts to clarify the company’s position, Park lamented the wider damage inflicted by the dispute. "The most regrettable thing is that trust between investors and producers in the entertainment industry has been broken," he told Newsis. The K-pop industry, he noted, thrives on risk-taking and mutual trust; when those foundations are shaken, the entire investment environment suffers. "The core of the multi-label system is fair competition and trust, but this incident has greatly undermined that. It’s now harder for investors to guarantee high autonomy and rewards to producers," Park said, warning that the chilling effect could stifle future growth.
Park’s own track record at HYBE is notable. Joining the company (then Big Hit Entertainment) in May 2020 after a successful career in the gaming and IT sector, he became CEO in July 2021. During his tenure, HYBE’s consolidated revenue more than doubled—from 796.3 billion KRW in 2020 to 2.1781 trillion KRW in 2023—while operating profit soared from 145.5 billion KRW to 295.6 billion KRW. Under his leadership, HYBE became the first entertainment company in South Korea to be designated a major conglomerate, laying the groundwork for global expansion and the multi-label system now at the heart of the controversy.
As the legal battle continues, with appeals and asset seizures still in play, the HYBE-MIN dispute serves as a cautionary tale for the K-pop industry. It’s a stark reminder that, in the high-stakes world of entertainment, trust and transparency are as vital as talent and ambition.