[Eng] "Bang Sihyuk, you said it was an accident... I will sell my house and fight until the end" Min Heejin's lecture 'words of words"

 

Min Heejin, former CEO of ADOR, expressed her will to fight HYBE, the parent company, until the end and win.

Former CEO of ADOR, Min Heejin, appeared as a lecturer at the "2024 Hyundai Card Da Vinci Motel" event held in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the night of the 27th. On the day, she talked about various stories related to her for about 2 hours and 13 minutes under the theme of "Min Heejin's Freestyle, a producer who breaks the formula of K-Pop."

This was her first public appearance since she stepped down as CEO of ADOR. It was the first time that she was accused of breach of trust in April when she was suspected of stealing management rights from her parent company, HYBE, and she expressed her feelings in public while continuing a legal dispute with HYBE.

It was designed to share various stories as a "K-Pop producer" but Min Heejin talked about a series of events related to HYBE without adding or subtracting from each other and amid a constant stream of issues surrounding her. Appearing with a bright smile in front of the welcoming audience, Min said, "I thought my phone was on fire. Everyone contacted me asking if I prepared well," and added, "I thought my life was over. They contacted me as if it was my last day."

Afterwards, she confessed that she was hurt when her fashion and comments became memes and became a hot topic when she held her press conference, but she said that she was able to relieve stress by saying what she wanted to say during the press conference. She said, "Didn't you see the press conference? I'm grateful that you're curious about me because I just talked to people who tried to eat me like a witch," she said, expressing her gratitude to fans who were curious about her.

※ "Bang Sihyuk, you told me to cause an accident"

Former CEO Min, who was explaining how she entered the K-Pop industry when she joined SM Entertainment, said that she wanted to break the practice where a composer served as an executive producer. She had the belief that art is the opposite of practice. She wanted to break away from the existing practice and create a new one by adhering art and business exquisitely. "I think that would create synergy, but no one is doing it. I ended up running a business because I wanted to try everything myself," Min said without hesitation. "I was angry when men who said they were running something they had worked on all night took it and ruined it."

This naturally led to comments on the separation of management and production, which have recently become an issue. With the recent appointment of Kim Joo-young as the new CEO, ADOR began operating under a system in which Kim Joo-young will take change of management and Min Heejin will take charge of production. This is also a principle of HYBE's multi-label management. However, Min says management and production should be integrated and that she should return to the CEO position.

She firmly stated, "If management and producing are separated, I have no reason to do this work." Her goal is neither to become a CEO nor to start a company to make money. She continued, "If someone told me to just produce, that shows I don't know much about the business. If that was the case, would I have to come to this company?" and added, "That person (Bang Sihyuk, chairman of HYBE) also told me to have an accident (when I was scouting). He said, 'You can't do it at BigHit. Make an accident.' Park Ji-won (former CEO of HYBE) asked me to take revenge and this person (Bang Sihyuk) told me to do what I wanted, but I don't know why he bothers me so much."

※ "Lawsuit costs up to now are 2.3 billion won... Neither I nor NewJeans have ever said they were leaving the company"

After allegations of embezzlement of management control were raised in April, Min appointed a lawyer named Yoo Sejong as her legal representative and is now in dispute with HYBE. Confessing that the legal fees so far amount to 2.3 billion won ($ 2.3 million), Min said, "I will have to sell my house because of this legal fees. But I am so grateful. I wondered if I had the house for this, I wonder, 'What would I have done if I didn't have a house?' I wanted to fight against HYBE, but if I don't have money, I can't fight, right? I want to kick my feet and if I want to do that, I have to file a lawsuit, but if I don't have money, I can't do it and respond."

In particular, she expressed her determination by saying, "If it costs tons of billions of won in three months. Can ordinary people afford it? That's why I think I have to win. I want to prevent this kind of fight from what's happening. If someone holds out, a process will be created. I can later advise people who are at risk like me, if it's absurd, I have to make a bill, or I to hold out so that the fight doesn't end up being won by the rich."

When recalling the time when she first heard the suspicions of management usurpation, she said, "I never mentioned that I was leaving the company. Suddenly, I took the management control. I didn't even understand the atmosphere and where the trouble was. I thought 'What the heck is this usurpation?' and thought, 'I will win. I guarantee you because the guilty is not made by me. I know the law of nature that no matter how much you lie and inflate me, it will be revealed eventually." This is an unprecedented case. I will definitely film a documentary. That's why I will reveal the whole process. The members who work with me will feel unfair. I have never said that I will leave the company. The parent company may hate it, but the members probably didn't hate ADOR.

※ Experience how you gaslighted NewJeans

Former CEO Min's bold statement also led to gaslighting. When the suspicions that the members of NewJeans were gaslighting the members arose in relation to he fact that they took former CEO Min's side and even conducted a recent live broadcast, she directly refuted them.

She said, "Go through how I gaslighted NewJeans, I always talk about this (enterprise process). NewJeans need to understand the system to do their job well. I want our kids to be smart, be honest and tell the truth more closely. That's why, there will be no shock later. This industry is not a pretty industry. It's not that you don't know. You need to know a lot to get a hawk."

Also, as if conscious of the gaze that she is being called "NewJeans' mom" and that she is making an image as the mother of NewJeans, she added about what she thinks mother means to her. Former CEO Min said, "No matter what, the kids think I'm the boss. How difficult it must be for them to be the same age as their mother," adding, "I'm not pretending to be their mom. Don't moms accept every thing? Even if you do something wrong or make a mistake, a mom tells you, 'you can do it,' and even you're upset, a mom gets over it in a day. I wanted to give the members that kind of heart. I wanted to reassure them, 'Even if you make a mistake, I will never abandon you'," she said, drawing attention by showing her affection for the members.

※ "You didn't start with my own money, right? Then pay me in a year."

She rebelled against HYBE's claim, saying that she proved her success with sales and performance in a short period of time. She emphasized that she was honest, saying, "There are two types of people who say, 'I got investment,' or 'I didn't start it with my own money'. Or they either have no sense of economics or they don't understand even if you tell them. Or they do it part-time. Since I received money, I have no choice but to spread it even though it hurts. I paid it back in a year and more than that."

She also made it clear that this situation was not caused by greed for money. She said, "To be honest, money is important. It is the price that converts my value," but added, "But there are so many things more important than money. Happiness standards are all different. Money is meaningful in that sense because it is a quantitative indicator that converts my value, but money itself itself is not."

She also revealed, "There are many things you didn't know about other than the shareholder agreement. I had to keep my mouth shut during the contract period. I didn't know if I was stupid or naive. I thought they would give me (the money) and that I could object. You may not like the way I objected, but I tried to be as polite as possible."

※ NewJeans, which has proven its potential in a short period of time, is curious to see how far they will go

In a recent interview with a media outlet, she recited the answer she gave to the reporter's last question, saying that it was omitted from the article. The question was "What do you want to achieve through K-Pop?"

To this, former CEO Min replied, "It's about getting closer to the essence of entertainment and achieving the ultimate utopia." She continued, "Philosophy and art are perceived as polar opposites of business. This is because of the precedent and perception that things that make money are difficult on the other hand. If you stay away from capital, art is bound to become isolated. I've always dreamed of combining these conflicting perceptions. The capital market has always focused on things that make money. That's why making money with NewJeans was important to me. With capital, the intangible concepts that I pursue, namely aesthetics and philosophy, can receive more attention and bloom densely. The members are like researchers of a kind. NewJeans has already proven its potential in a short period of time. I'm so curious to see how far we could have come when we pursue the essence of entertainment, it's inherent enjoyment, and broke down the boundaries to shine as a business."

At the end of her long lecture, she said, "There are too many investors who want to meet me. Today, an investor contacted me to meet, but I didn't meet him because I didn't want to be misunderstood. He said, he has no intention of leaving (the company) so what are you imagining? And expressed her intention to reject all outside investment offers and achieved what he wants with NewJeans and ADOR."

Original article: MTN 뉴스