Min Hee Jin, the former CEO of ADOR, recently attracted significant attention by posting a scene from the animated series “Wedding Peach” on her SNS.
The post was made without any special explanation, but the caption “I feel sorry for you who don’t know the greatness of love” stands out in the image.
This scene depicts couples’ love behaviors and nuisance behaviors in “The Last Wedding,” the last episode of “Wedding Peach.”
On September 26, HYBE’s stock price surged by 5.82%, coinciding with the expiration of NewJeans’ ultimatum deadline for Min Hee-jin’s return. This suggests improving investor confidence as the ongoing conflict appears to be reaching a resolution.
As of 11:30 AM (KST) that day, the Korea Exchange reported HYBE trading at 169,000 won, a 9,300 won increase from the previous trading day.
The day before, ADOR proposed a compromise, offering to extend the term of the internal director but declining the NewJeans members’ call for Min Hee-jin‘s return. Min reportedly rejected this offer, citing a lack of sincerity in the proposal.
This development follows a series of events that began on November 11, when NewJeans, the girl group under ADOR, held a live YouTube broadcast. During the stream, they expressed their desire for “the original ADOR” and urged Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE to restore ADOR to its former state by September 25th. The group explained that they went public due to concerns over staff suffering from unfair demands and pressure following Min’s dismissal.
The conflict between HYBE and ADOR escalated into a legal battle earlier this year when HYBE attempted to dismiss Min Hee-jin, citing issues such as management rights seizure and embezzlement – allegations Min Hee-jin strongly denied. The situation escalated on July 27 when ADOR’s board finally dismissed Min Hee-jin on grounds of a separation of duties between management and production. Kim Ju-young, HYBE’s former Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and an internal director of ADOR, was appointed as the new CEO.
Despite ADOR’s offer for Min Hee-jin to continue producing for NewJeans, she declined, stating, “I was unilaterally notified of my dismissal and it was an unfair contract.” Reports indicate that Min Hee-jin rejected the latest compromise and continues to demand reinstatement as CEO.
However, the securities market views these developments as a sign that the uncertainty surrounding the conflict is dissipating, largely due to the firm stances taken by both HYBE and ADOR.
Lee Hwa-jung, an analyst at financial services company NH Investment & Securities, commented, “Given the prolonged nature of this dispute, the critical factor now is not NewJeans’ future direction, but rather the resolution of uncertainty itself. Regardless of the outcome, this is positive for the stock price.”