The Heavier Stuff
Author’s note: This is part of a series of posts which details the conflict between HYBE and ADOR.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Interlude on Stocks
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
At this point, it is safe to say that Min Hee Jin is not the only implicated in the current crisis between HYBE and ADOR. While there were fans of NewJeans who still claim that these talents must be protected and that they only made decisions that come from skewed views of the situation, we see the members of NewJeans publicly expressing their support for Min Hee Jin. We can therefore conclude that in whichever situation Min is put, the members of NewJeans would be greatly affected knowing that they have supported her out of her own accord.
Putting that aside, we can see the HYBE-Min Hee Jin conflict taking serious lengths and proportions. The next episode involves an accusation of workplace abuse by Min as then-CEO of ADOR. A former HYBE/ADOR employee came out in public accusing Min of taking the side of an ADOR executive in a reported sexual harassment case. It was said that this employee, a young woman in her 20s, had and encounter with a male executive which could be considered grounds for abuse and sexual harassment during work. Accordingly, the executive constantly made sexist comments and asked her to work outside of official hours; moreover, the employee also claimed that the executive accused her of making “advances” that caused him “confusion,” since the employee was quick to respond to text messages.
When the HYBE employee filed for sexual harassment, Min intervened and tried to cover up and dismiss the charges. With no results to be expected, the employee has since then resigned from HYBE and has spoken up through media outlets. In this regard, it was said that Min did not respond to the accusation and even took the side of the executive. There were no disciplinary measures and that only a “firm warning” was given to the executive.
Min, however, gave a rather detailed and credible reply to this accusation. In her Instagram account, she posted a series of stories composed of KakaoTalk screenshots. According to her, this was the full account of the matter at hand, emphasizing that the real story was that she tried to reconcile the two parties. Moreover, she also clarified that the reason for the complaint and what should have been grounds for dismissal of the HYBE employee was ineptitude.
In her detailed reply, Min highlighted that the HYBE employee was already a high-ranking staff that has already worked for seven years in the company. With a salary as that of an executive, the employee was assigned as a “project leader and executive strategy staff;” unfortunately, she was not able to measure up to the expectations that the company had for her.
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In effect, a lot of the details that the HYBE employee disclosed, according to Min, hide much of the truth. The side that Min reveals is actually that, beyond ineptitude, there were instances that the HYBE employee actually schedules meetings unnecessarily and even pre-planning them. Moreover, said employee has been said to have no problem with drinking alcohol, even going beyond hours even if the said executive, as with all others from ADOR, have ended the meeting. Finally, Min claims that the employee actually was given a second chance at ADOR as a result of a serious conversation between them. All of these, according to Min, were documented.
Thus, for Min, this was another one of the means to push her out of ADOR; the HYBE employee’s issue and conflict has just become one of the weapons wielded against her to stir public opinion. All of these were on record in an 18-page statement that the then-ADOR CEO publicized.
The former HYBE employee, however, retorted by claiming that there was a lot of misinformation on the part of Min’s statement, even the act of removing complete statements and parts of the whole story in the process. The employee claimed that Min was in no way a neutral mediator in this conflict, as there were documented instances in which she sided with the male executive. Furthermore, given that the investigation did not end with even a single iota of penalty toward the HYBE executive speaks volumes regarding Min’s lack of action regarding this matter. The HYBE employee insisted that it was Min’s decision to take as CEO.
Interestingly, the HYBE employee sent relevant information that proved Min’s awareness regarding this matter. The employee has shown that Min received seven complaints of workplace bullying and one on sexual harassment, and these are complaints that were left unattended and discreetly dismissed. That cannot be denied because, according to a set of KakaoTalk messages, the executive has expressed his apology on sexual harassment, which seemed to be taken lightly and was even redacted at the published posts.
Apart from that, the employee also decided to sue Min for revealing matters in public that were supposedly private and confidential. Moreover, there are official documents which show that the employee has performed rather exceptionally according to evaluation reports, with all but one — that of the mentioned ADOR executive — giving her positive remarks. As of late, there is no decision publicized regarding this matter, although HYBE has already reopened this case for review at a later date.
Min, however, shrugged these off and just claimed that this could be part of HYBE’s attempt to discredit her work as ADOR CEO and eventually dismiss her from the past. But while this issue goes on, the deadline for the next board meeting called by HYBE is coming near, with a crucial decision that will turn the tables even more against Min, NewJeans, and those in ADOR who were on their side.
