According to Sports Kyunghyang, former ADOR CEO Min Heejin has lost all major criminal complaints she filed against HYBE and BELIFT LAB executives. The prosecution ruled in favor of HYBE regarding allegations of spreading false information, illegal surveillance, and plagiarism raised by Min Heejin, stating ther her claims 'cannot be viewed as false or constitute a justified exercises of authority.'
On the 10th Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that on May 27, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office dismissed all complaints filed by Min Heejin against six HYBE executives, including former CEO Park Jiwon, and four BELIFT LAB executives, including CEO Kim Taeho.
The prosecutors sided with HYBE on the highly controversial 'shaman-based management' allegations. They determined that the contents released by HYBE were not false. During the investigation process, KakaoTalk messages were reportedly confirmed showing Min Heejin discussing ADOR's management issues with a shaman on multiple occasions. The prosecutors concluded that while the phrase 'shaman-based management' was somewhat exaggerated, it was difficult to view it as 'false information' that contitutes defamation.
The prosecutors also rejected Min Heejin's allegation that HYBE ilegally accessed her emails and her close associate's messenger accounts, which she had claimed as a violation of Information and Communications Network Laws. The prosecutors determined that HYBE's action fell within its lawful audit authority, citing she had signed the security agreements and personal information consent forms when she joined ADOR. In particular, the prosecutors reportedly confirmed that former VP Lee Sangwoo voluntarily provided his password, further weakening the 'illegal surveillance' claim.
Min Heejin's claim that ILLIT had copied NewJeans also failed to persuade the prosecutors, citing the previous court ruling that stated, "There were some similarities, but it is difficult to consider it as a copy." As a result, BELIFT LAB's statement that argued, "ILLIT did not copy NewJeans," was recognized as an expression of opinion rather than defamation.
Ultimately, Min Heejin's attempt to overturn the police's previous decision not to refer the case to the prosecutors was unsuccessful. Previously, when the police decided in July of last year not to pursue charges against HYBE and BELIFT LAB executives, Min Heejin had filed an objection. However, even after supplementary investigations, the prosecutors did not change their conclusion, leaving the criminal lawsuit battle ending in a complete victory for HYBE.
However, the 25.5 billion KRW put-option lawsuit which Min Heejin won this February is based on entirely different legal standards. The main issue in that lawsuit is which party violated the shareholder agreement. Even if Min Heejin discussed management matters with a shaman or plotted independence plans, the court had previously ruled that her actions were not significant enough to terminate the shareholders' agreement.
HYBE is now expected to use the result of these cases as their ammunition in the ongoing put-option appeal trial. Meanwhile, Min Heejin's side is expected to counter that HYBE's obligation to pay for the shares according to the terms of the contracts still remains valid, regardless of the criminal findings.
In the end, the true winner and loser of this situation is expected to be determined only when the final ruling in the put-option lawsuit, which involves tens of billion KRW, is delivered.
COMMENTS:
1. [+87][-27] If she was going to fight, she should've just fought by herself. Why did she have to drag NewJeans into it? Even if she didn't mean to, she should've thought about those young girls' futures and stopped it all from happening.
2. [+86][-32] The girls' life are now ruined and it's all because of your greed.
3. [+44][-6] This nutcase is still making the news?ㅡㅡ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
4. [+21][-20] Let's be completely honest. Her story didn't add up and was weird from the very beginning. The reporters and public were taking her side only because it looked entertaining. Thanks to that, professionalism and basic etiquette in the K-pop industry have gone out the window now and a globally successful idol group with a bright future suffered serious damage. It's not just Min Heejin's fault. If only everyone had reacted with common sense when she was throwing tantrum, things wouldn't have ended up like this. The media and the public are also to blame here.
5. [+21][-18] Many of idol groups that could replace NewJeans have debuted by now.
