Hybe Corporation has once again refuted the interview of former Adore CEO Min Hee-jin point by point.

On the 26th, Hybe released a lengthy official statement, saying, "There are many untrue contents in the Min Hee-jin interview article," and emphasized, "It is not true that Hybe proposed a negotiation proposal of 'We will give you money, so take it and leave' and that the work on Newgenes' new album was halted because of Hybe."

Former CEO Min Hee-jin previously made several claims about the behind-the-scenes events of her conflict with Hybe in an interview with JoongAng Ilbo.

In response, Hybe refuted, saying, "We have never proposed a negotiation proposal of 'We will give you money, so take it and leave' to Director Min Hee-jin. It is absurd for us to make such a ridiculous false claim in a media interview."

He continued, "The overseas PR agency responded, 'We have never distributed any materials regarding Director Min Hee-jin, and if we make such a claim, it's a lie.' Billboard columnist Jeff Benjamin also responded, 'We have never said that Director Min received materials full of slander.'"

Regarding the suspicion that the PR manager disparaged New Jeans' performance in Japan, HYBE explained, "The article that said '1.02 million copies were sold in Japan alone' was such a distortion of the facts that they explained the sales volume using the Oricon chart data that was publicly available at the time." They continued, "The day after the article came out, it was revealed that the Recording Industry Association of Japan had certified it gold, but gold is determined based on 'shipment volume.'"

◆ HYBE's official statement

There are many untrue contents in the interview with Director Min Hee-jin reported by JoongAng Ilbo on September 26, so we are informing you as follows.

■ HYBE has never proposed a negotiation proposal of 'We'll give you money, so take it and leave.'

First of all, Hive has never proposed a negotiation plan to Director Min Hee-jin, saying, “We’ll give you money, so take it and leave.” It is simply absurd for the company to make such an absurd false claim in a media interview.

■ The audit was conducted based on clear internal and external reports, and it is a serious matter that is also under police investigation.

Director Min claimed that the audit was conducted “accidentally” and “illegally based on false facts,” but the audit is not something that is conducted accidentally. It was initiated as internal and external reports continued. The audit results showed that Director Min and the vice president have been seeking ways to attack the company for a long time, and that there were countless instances of bad intentions such as “no one can touch us inside Hive,” “ultimately leaving Hive,” and “actively taking advantage of the fact that the mothers did not sign a contract with Hive,” as well as circumstances in which they met with investors. In addition, Director Min himself has not yet responded to the company’s audit. This matter is a serious matter that is currently under police investigation.

■ Director Min was fully guaranteed full authority over production and management.

The claim that he broke his promise to guarantee independence for the 'Min Hee-jin Label' is also not true. Director Min was guaranteed full authority over production and management more than any other label during his time as CEO. Without any interference, he enjoyed greater benefits and support than any other label in terms of put options, annual salary, treatment, activity support, and promotions.

■ The columnist also confirmed that the claim that an overseas PR agency distributed slanderous materials is false.

The claim that an overseas PR agency distributed slanderous materials is also not true. The company responded that it "never distributed any materials about Director Min and that making such a claim would be a lie." ("At no point did any agency affiliated with HYBE provide any slanderous or untrue information about Min, to suggest otherwise would be a lie"). Billboard columnist Jeff Benjamin also responded that he never told Director Min that he received slanderous materials.

■ Regarding album sales in Japan, they are cleverly distorting the facts by confusing the shipment volume and sales volume criteria.

They are also cleverly distorting the facts about album sales in Japan. The article that said, "1.02 million copies were sold in Japan alone" was such a big distortion of facts that they explained the sales volume using the Oricon chart data that was publicly available at the time. The day after the article came out, it was revealed that the Recording Industry Association of Japan certified it as gold (100,000 copies), but gold is selected based on the "shipment volume" criteria.

■ The fan meeting and album work suspension was not due to interference with Hive's work, but due to Director Min's negligence and delayed decision-making.

The surprise fan meeting for Korean fans and the suspension of album work were not due to Director Min's dismissal of the representative and exclusion of the vice representative from work. Adore was considering Seoul World Cup Stadium as the venue for the Korean fan meeting, but it was rejected due to the grass issue. The new leadership gathered practical opinions to come up with alternatives and discuss new albums, and requested several meetings with Director Min and communicated via email, but Director Min delayed his response or suddenly took a long vacation, causing disruption. Due to Director Min’s negligence and delayed decision-making, many things for fans have been put on hold.

■ The agenda for the board meeting is not subject to discussion and there is no obligation to give advance notice, but it was clearly announced three days before the meeting.

Director Min said that the motion to dismiss the CEO was not an agenda that was discussed, but this is also an absurd claim. The agenda for the board meeting is not subject to discussion and there is no obligation to give advance notice. Nevertheless, the Adore board of directors clearly informed Director Min of the agenda three days before the meeting. Although he said that there was “no clear reason to accept” for the dismissal, the board of directors explained that in addition to the breakdown of trust, “separating the work of producing and the CEO is appropriate in terms of policy.” This is clearly recorded in the records.

Director Min’s serious disqualification as a manager is revealed simply by spreading false information through interviews. I hope you can return to your main job and devote yourself to serving your artists and fans.