On November 27, the third court hearing for the civil lawsuit between Min Hee-jin and HYBE was held at the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 31, presided over by Judge Nam In-soo. The case involves a shareholder agreement termination and Min’s put option request against HYBE.
During the session, Min testified directly, criticizing HYBE’s unequal promotional efforts. “HYBE properly promoted LE SSERAFIM’s debut, but they didn’t do the same for NewJeans,” she stated.
Addressing skepticism over this claim, she added, “Chairman Bang Si-hyuk may say, ‘Would I sabotage my own company?’ But anyone who’s worked in a corporate environment knows that logic doesn’t always prevail. Even before this incident, Bang would court people when needed but easily discard them once they’re no longer useful.”
Min further claimed she felt used as a “tool for HYBE’s IPO.” She explained, “Back then, HYBE only had BTS, which wasn’t enough for an IPO. They needed a girl group or other assets. I wasn’t aware that the company was planning to go public. Later, through HYBE’s IPO and the SM acquisition battle, I realized I was essential to those efforts.”
She alleged there was internal pushback against NewJeans, saying, “They probably thought it was better to promote other labels than to let my group succeed. Bang told staff not to promote NewJeans and to promote LE SSERAFIM in a way that confuses the public into thinking it’s my team. Former CEO Park Ji-won clearly told me that. At the time, I said, ‘That’s absolute nonsense.’”
Min also disclosed that her December 2022 appearance on tvN’s You Quiz on the Block was driven by necessity: “They had contacted me multiple times, but I kept declining. Then I told the writer I’d do it because I felt I had to. That’s how desperate the situation was I had to go on national TV just to promote NewJeans.”
Sources: Daum