News Hybe/MHJ Civil War Megathread (34 Viewers)

[VillageIdiot]

but so has hybe i think they even ruled that the texts were in fact real

They didn't and haven't won anything against her so far. The courts ruled the texts were admissible and MHJ would need to provide her own to counter it. She did.

A large part of the verdicts were giving her text messages in full context which showed something very different from what Hybe edited and presented to the public.

One example: the empty shell conspiracy

According to Hybe: invoking her put option, somehow stealing NewJeans and leaving Ador

According to Min Heejin, the court and police: Min Heejin resigning at the end of her contract

The courts even made it a point to explicitly say even if Min Heejin had implemented anything she talked about in her texts, none of it would have been illegal or even possible without Hybe's consent. The text messages of the ideas all mention seeking Hybe's consent before going forward as well

The reality:
MHJ: Can I bring in outside investors?
Hybe: No

MHJ: Can I buy more shares?
Hybe: no

MHJ: Can I sell my shares and resign?
Hybe: not if I don't want you to

None of the above things could be considered a betrayal by anyone with common sense and that's exactly why they keep losing. Wanting a bigger piece of the pie and considering ways to properly go about it is just business. Not only that, all of these "plans" were contingent upon not getting the ideal contract renewal, so her main focus was always staying in the company and with Hybe. The one suggesting independence wasn't even Mine Heejin, it was the new VP who she was already pushing to resign

Hybe had an extremely favorable contract with her to the extent they could have perpetually kept her out of the industry

Whats your counter narrative? that HYBE wanted to start all this drama and tank a very profitable group (which would be in clear disregard to fiduciary duties to stock holders{in itself maybe criminal}) just to escape paying a trivial amount (in a corporate sense), or that they hate girls?

Or maybe it has something to do with the internal complaint she raised just weeks before they decided to audit Ador and publicly demanded she resign before the audit ever even completed? Publicly smearing someone before they can blow the whistle isn't uncommon at all

Again, the only "evidence" they had were edited text messages that they only obtained in the audit. Before that, they had nothing but they still went public before the investigation demanding she resign

At the end of the day, not only is there no evidence of her doing what she's accused of, Hybe's (very misogynistic) attempts to smear her as a selfish, irrational, out of control woman doesn't line up with her actually reputation after 20 years in the industry. Hybe on the other hand...

 

[RandAlThor]

They didn't and haven't won anything against her so far. The courts ruled the texts were admissible and MHJ would need to provide her own to counter it. She did.

A large part of the verdicts were giving her text messages in full context which showed something very different from what Hybe edited and presented to the public.

One example: the empty shell conspiracy

According to Hybe: invoking her put option, somehow stealing NewJeans and leaving Ador

According to Min Heejin, the court and police: Min Heejin resigning at the end of her contract

The courts even made it a point to explicitly say even if Min Heejin had implemented anything she talked about in her texts, none of it would have been illegal or even possible without Hybe's consent. The text messages of the ideas all mention seeking Hybe's consent before going forward as well

The reality:
MHJ: Can I bring in outside investors?
Hybe: No

MHJ: Can I buy more shares?
Hybe: no

MHJ: Can I sell my shares and resign?
Hybe: not if I don't want you to

None of the above things could be considered a betrayal by anyone with common sense and that's exactly why they keep losing. Wanting a bigger piece of the pie and considering ways to properly go about it is just business. Not only that, all of these "plans" were contingent upon not getting the ideal contract renewal, so her main focus was always staying in the company and with Hybe. The one suggesting independence wasn't even Mine Heejin, it was the new VP who she was already pushing to resign

Hybe had an extremely favorable contract with her to the extent they could have perpetually kept her out of the industry



Or maybe it has something to do with the internal complaint she raised just weeks before they decided to audit Ador and publicly demanded she resign before the audit ever even completed? Publicly smearing someone before they can blow the whistle isn't uncommon at all

Again, the only "evidence" they had were edited text messages that they only obtained in the audit. Before that, they had nothing but they still went public before the investigation demanding she resign

At the end of the day, not only is there no evidence of her doing what she's accused of, Hybe's (very misogynistic) attempts to smear her as a selfish, irrational, out of control woman doesn't line up with her actually reputation after 20 years in the industry. Hybe on the other hand...

sure. that is one side. it will come down to if it was legal for the board to replace her. I am guessing that it was.

if HYBE had such a good deal again why? isnt that internal complaint the illit plagerism thing?

As to her rep ill trust Yerim.

 

[VillageIdiot]

sure. that is one side. it will come down to if it was legal for the board to replace her. I am guessing that it was.

if HYBE had such a good deal again why? isnt that internal complaint the illit plagerism thing?

As to her rep ill trust Yerim.

It's been explicitly said it wasn't legal to replace her and it's going to keep ending up at that result. They had no grounds

What's Yeri got to do with her rep? She's never said anything about her

 

[Selfmate]

ADOR Wins 1.1 Billion Won Lawsuit Against Dolphiners Films

Court Rules Unauthorized NewJeans Footage Posting Violated Contractual Obligations

ADOR, the agency of group NewJeans, has once again prevailed against Dolphiners Films.

On the 29th, the appellate trial for the 1.1 billion Korean won damages lawsuit filed by ADOR against Dolphiners Films and Director Shin Woo-suk was held at the Seoul High Court Civil Division 5-3 (Presiding Judge Kang Sung-hoon, Song Hye-jeong, Kim Dae-hyun).

The court ruled in partial favor of ADOR, as in the original trial.

The court stated, "Even if the Dolphin Abduction Team received verbal consent from former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, they unilaterally added footage without prior agreement. Posting the video without removing the Apple logo, a collaborator’s mark, ultimately violated contractual obligations to ADOR."

Dolphiners Films posted the director’s cut of NewJeans’ "ETA" music video on its own channel in August 2024. However, ADOR raised issues regarding NewJeans’ copyright and advertiser concerns. Dolphiners Films claimed the video was posted after a verbal agreement with former CEO Min, but ADOR filed a civil lawsuit in September 2024 seeking 1.1 billion Korean won in damages for breach of contract and illegal acts against Director Shin and Dolphiners Films.

The first trial court recognized the full 4 billion Korean won as a penalty clause, double the contract amount of approximately 2 billion Korean won. However, since ADOR only claimed 1 billion Korean won, the compensation was set to that amount. The 100 million Korean won claim for defamation and damages against Director Shin was dismissed.

The appellate court, however, deemed only 1 billion Korean won of the penalty clause valid, ruling the remaining portion invalid as it violated good social customs and public order. Claims for copyright infringement, defamation, and insults raised by ADOR were also rejected, as in the first trial.

Source: https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2026/10/29/QCQL4BDLCJCP5JYHOBTAT353OE/

 

[RandAlThor]

i think end of the day she was/ is a solid if not brilliant CD but CEO is well out of her range. lol violates social customs... not a legal definition but an emotional one.

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

i think end of the day she was/ is a solid if not brilliant CD but CEO is well out of her range. lol violates social customs... not a legal definition but an emotional one.

I nvr knew about MHJ before all this(at least I don't think I read about her Krystal obsession/Kai fixation n her 70s erotic pedestal-placing beforehand).

After all this time, I'm no more enlightened on the legal n the rightness of the audit/MHJ's "plotting"/"backstabbiness" than when it all first came to light.

My POV is 2 big egos who creatively created respectively 1 bg n 1 gg who blew up in popularity.

It just seems possible BHS dint like MHJ's success with NJ overshadowing LSRFM n found evidence to oust her in her texts. Co-plotting with VP/others. Which i read as normal business dealing/shenanigans - but since HYBE is overlord of ADOR, MHJ had no recourse to retain power/creative control. Once installed as CEO, MHJ just could not take being demoted to CD(in my opinion) as she (thought) proved herself creatively/business wise(budgets/planning) with NJ. So giving up control of ADOR for NJ to go on was not gonna happen after tasting power as CEO of ADOR, only ppl like So sungjin & Lee wonmin(tat I can think of in kpop) left as CEOs with big payouts also Lee sooman(but his seemed more leave with big payout before being forced out by those he brought in)

I guess I think CEOs think of themselves first n not the ones they're in charge of. so I'm unsure why MHJ = bad, while no criticism of SouMu/WM main CEOs unless its their own money, but MHJ used HYBE/BHS money. My main point is without SSJ, LWM, LSM or MHJ - Gfriend, OMG, SNSD or NJ nvr would hv existed as such. All four got out of their original company but only MHJ is vilified as "betrayer" while I think her actions were normal CEO behavior.

it might take up to 10 yrs for final evaluation of MHJ NJ. I'll just watch n see if it resolves anytime.

 

[Selfmate]

it might take up to 10 yrs for final evaluation of MHJ NJ. I'll just watch n see if it resolves anytime.

history is written by the victor
whoever wins this battle will dictate how the narrative is woven...

 

[RandAlThor]

I nvr knew about MHJ before all this(at least I don't think I read about her Krystal obsession/Kai fixation n her 70s erotic pedestal-placing beforehand).

After all this time, I'm no more enlightened on the legal n the rightness of the audit/MHJ's "plotting"/"backstabbiness" than when it all first came to light.

My POV is 2 big egos who creatively created respectively 1 bg n 1 gg who blew up in popularity.

It just seems possible BHS dint like MHJ's success with NJ overshadowing LSRFM n found evidence to oust her in her texts. Co-plotting with VP/others. Which i read as normal business dealing/shenanigans - but since HYBE is overlord of ADOR, MHJ had no recourse to retain power/creative control. Once installed as CEO, MHJ just could not take being demoted to CD(in my opinion) as she (thought) proved herself creatively/business wise(budgets/planning) with NJ. So giving up control of ADOR for NJ to go on was not gonna happen after tasting power as CEO of ADOR, only ppl like So sungjin & Lee wonmin(tat I can think of in kpop) left as CEOs with big payouts also Lee sooman(but his seemed more leave with big payout before being forced out by those he brought in)

I guess I think CEOs think of themselves first n not the ones they're in charge of. so I'm unsure why MHJ = bad, while no criticism of SouMu/WM main CEOs unless its their own money, but MHJ used HYBE/BHS money. My main point is without SSJ, LWM, LSM or MHJ - Gfriend, OMG, SNSD or NJ nvr would hv existed as such. All four got out of their original company but only MHJ is vilified as "betrayer" while I think her actions were normal CEO behavior.

it might take up to 10 yrs for final evaluation of MHJ NJ. I'll just watch n see if it resolves anytime.

Something triggered the audit. and she has had pr issues the sexual harassment thing . going to war over Illit. leaking company info.

But at the end of the day what likely got her is teh illit thing. General Motors does not care if Chevy and GMC trucks are almost identical, nor any of the various cars under any of its sub corps. ie Chevy Pontiac Oldsmobile Cadillac ect. they just want to sell units and if a different nameplate on the same thing does teh trick then so be it.

Hybe i see as similar they just want to sell units they could care less who moves it. BTS, TXT, enhyphen, gfriend, lesserafim new jeans illit ect . and they expect all disputes to be kept internal. that did not happen. once that can of worms is open its all hell for breakfast.

GM's failure was assuming like all big corp that everything would always work and they got bloated and did not stay nimble. lol there was a time i think in my life time when 10 % of the GDP of the USA flowed thru GM , and they f ed it up .

Hybe is trying to be more nimble, not that i think BHS is a great leader but they have a plan. Clearly LSM has proven he is teh best over all hate him, love him but ya gotta respect him. dude does not know how to fail, and stay failed he attack s always..

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

.....

Hybe i see as similar they just want to sell units they could care less who moves it. BTS, TXT, enhyphen, gfriend, lesserafim new jeans illit ect . and they expect all disputes to be kept internal. that did not happen. once that can of worms is open its all hell for breakfast.

.....

This does not seem to take into account BSH personally recruiting Sakura & Chaewon into LSRFM/SouMu; which in my opinion is to prove he can create a successful gg albeit from remnants of izone, arguably the greatest gg in kpop ever. When LSRFM did not overshadow NJ - ILLIT then appeared.

whether BSH emotions got the better of him or he just wants to sell more units, the fact is 3 ggs became 2 ggs (not including global ggs). I still think the mistake was bringing in a scorpion under HYBE n expecting her not to sting the frog/BSH but tat is in hindsight. Maybe he thought she might need assistance/mentorship as CEO n he could swoop in but this is all speculation. All the legal/business dealings done by MHJ to me don't explain everything.

Legal advice on whether her actions constituted legally actionable retaliation like firing her from ADOR were missing n the audit seemed ill-timed/ill-advised like in retrospect it was an emotional action. The fact is tat it garnered sympathy for MHJ when anti-Bang sentiment is there all along. Maybe no way to stop anti-Bang sentiment but outright suspending her pending audit should hv been more prudent if Bang even suspected MHJ of business shenanigans.

edit: instead the audit now seems like a temper tantrum.

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

.....

Hybe is trying to be more nimble, not that i think BHS is a great leader but they have a plan. Clearly LSM has proven he is teh best over all hate him, love him but ya gotta respect him. dude does not know how to fail, and stay failed he attack s always..

ISTM tat HYBE can only sustain 1½ bg n 1½ gg at most at any one time; world's biggest bg & cortisol rise/stay on top while txt & enhypen drop; LSRFM & global gg are getting good PR while ILLIT aren't rn. To me it's whether it's sustainable - will trainees join bighit, pledis, soumu, belift n sub-hybe agencies when KiiiKiii, IVE, RESCENE, other agencies do much better with less resources n less-top-down-control as seems to happen at all HYBE under-agencies. Will sakura, chaewon debut as solo after 7 yrs or less under HYBE, will implosion or fracture occur to night's bg like 1direction? This question(s) is fundamental to whether Bang or LSM leaves a more lasting legacy. LSM proves with A2O he still got it even without SM money/infrastructure/watever; it's not big3~4 privilige; LSM has/knows/can make the special sauce at least for now n has since SMEnt days!

Bang =/= gg without HYBE money/ BSH is far behind LSM when it comes to ggs, even bgs: HYBE=4, LSM=10(whichever counts up till NCT watever)+1(A2O SOUL). Not sure HYBE can outlast/expand forever.

 

[RandAlThor]

This does not seem to take into account BSH personally recruiting Sakura & Chaewon into LSRFM/SouMu; which in my opinion is to prove he can create a successful gg albeit from remnants of izone, arguably the greatest gg in kpop ever. When LSRFM did not overshadow NJ - ILLIT then appeared.

whether BSH emotions got the better of him or he just wants to sell more units, the fact is 3 ggs became 2 ggs (not including global ggs). I still think the mistake was bringing in a scorpion under HYBE n expecting her not to sting the frog/BSH but tat is in hindsight. Maybe he thought she might need assistance/mentorship as CEO n he could swoop in but this is all speculation. All the legal/business dealings done by MHJ to me don't explain everything.

Legal advice on whether her actions constituted legally actionable retaliation like firing her from ADOR were missing n the audit seemed ill-timed/ill-advised like in retrospect it was an emotional action. The fact is tat it garnered sympathy for MHJ when anti-Bang sentiment is there all along. Maybe no way to stop anti-Bang sentiment but outright suspending her pending audit should hv been more prudent if Bang even suspected MHJ of business shenanigans.

edit: instead the audit now seems like a temper tantrum.

yep i think they took it personal when, the plagiarism muttering started and its clear there were emotional decisions all around. that why putting the HR person in charge at Ador seemed smart if ofc they could be professional.

 

[RandAlThor]

ISTM tat HYBE can only sustain 1½ bg n 1½ gg at most at any one time; world's biggest bg & cortisol rise/stay on top while txt & enhypen drop; LSRFM & global gg are getting good PR while ILLIT aren't rn. To me it's whether it's sustainable - will trainees join bighit, pledis, soumu, belift n sub-hybe agencies when KiiiKiii, IVE, RESCENE, other agencies do much better with less resources n less-top-down-control as seems to happen at all HYBE under-agencies. Will sakura, chaewon debut as solo after 7 yrs or less under HYBE, will implosion or fracture occur to night's bg like 1direction? This question(s) is fundamental to whether Bang or LSM leaves a more lasting legacy. LSM proves with A2O he still got it even without SM money/infrastructure/watever; it's not big3~4 privilige; LSM has/knows/can make the special sauce at least for now n has since SMEnt days!

Bang =/= gg without HYBE money/ BSH is far behind LSM when it comes to ggs, even bgs: HYBE=4, LSM=10(whichever counts up till NCT watever)+1(A2O SOUL). Not sure HYBE can outlast/expand forever.

i do not think the hybe galaxy will suffer for trainees .. the kids are still better of than almost anywhere else. Rescene is this gens EXID / momoland/ brave girls give it 3 years . Starship has proved to be a player especially in gg. but the rest other than the big 4(and LSM ) are also rans.

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

i do not think the hybe galaxy will suffer for trainees .. the kids are still better of than almost anywhere else. Rescene is this gens EXID / momoland/ brave girls give it 3 years . Starship has proved to be a player especially in gg. but the rest other than the big 4(and LSM ) are also rans.

I just think/believe for now the elephant in the room in 3 yes or whenever the latest/last contract runs out will be a factor: do u think its sustainable either way - 1 big bg + txt + enhypen + cortis + seventeen under hybe + LSRFM + ILLIT + global girl group 1 + global girl group 2 _ would they reach/maintain same level in 3 yrs if SouMu, Belift, HYBE int., bighit, pledis, KOZ, ADOR n whatever expansion(s) happen/r happening continue to debut new bgs/ggs in next few yrs? Becos there's always gonna be new KiiiKiii, izna, fifty fifty, rescene, ive or maybe even izone successor to compete with HYBE ggs/bgs in future. Bang can try n absord trainees n debut em till end of time but like youngseo shows - if anyone is cut they can debut under other agencies n find some level of success; it's true of SMEnt, YGE, JYPE n probably DSP, CUBE n other agencies too. LSM couldn't expand forever n Suju/tvxq are his legacy (bgs) tat hv lasted the longest - will Bang's legacy be similar/same? Only Big Bang seems to be reaching same league as long-term be equivalent to suju/tvxq/shinhwa(?). I been pondering this for a few yrs ever since I read about artists vs agencies re: contract disputes [starting from 2018/2019 after I started stanning SNSD in 2018; SNSD hv lasted 19 going on 20 yrs now].

we saw this yr Blackpink faced resistance/reluctance/fans leaving after 4 members reached 10 yrs n made iindependent decisions/choices for their careers; will it happen to others?(TWICE got backlash for 11th anniversary fan meet tat dint come up to ONCE's expectations but most stayed in JYPE becos individually each TWICE member aren't able to go solo/act/diversify from being in TWICE n be independent [as in the individual member's thinking-i think NY n DH are remaining under JYPE for now, JIHYO, JEONGYEON, CHAEYOUNG & TZUYU hv gone independent n MISAMO are too tied to JYPE if they want to stay in korea]

so I don't think it's cut n dried if more trainees will keep being debuting under HYBE, at least at the level of LSRFM/ILLIT/NJ/Cortis standard going forward-i hv no insider knowledge/info so HYBE might very well do so for 10 yrs or forever; but its not a foregone guarantee. I think SM with H2H, YGE/Black Label(im u sure which) with MEOVV/BABYMONSTER hv so far proven able to hv successive ggs after SNSD~2NE1~BP~RV(srry)aespa but JYPE reached the stars with TWICE n hvnt struck yet with ITZY/NMIXX/NIZIU(r other ggs in JYPE now?)

so my pov is it's not a sure thing for HYBE but idk maybe I'm just hoping for HYBE downfall after they bought SouMu n disbanded Gfriend.