Prosecution Dismisses HYBE Defamation Case Over "Min Hee-jin Shamanistic Management" Allegations
All Complaints Against HYBE and Belift Lab Executives Dismissed
No Charges for "Shamanistic Management" Allegations or ILLIT Plagiarism Dispute
All the criminal complaints filed by Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADORE, against officials at its parent company HYBE and its affiliate Belift Lab, have been dismissed by both the police and the prosecution. The prosecution concluded that the allegations raised by HYBE regarding Min's so-called "shamanistic management" could not be deemed false, and that the inspection of information conducted during the audit process fell within the legitimate scope of authority.
According to legal sources on June 11, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Hwang Sueyeon) decided not to indict all those involved in the defamation case filed by former CEO Min against six executives including former HYBE CEO Park Jiwon, and four executives including Kim Taeho, CEO of Belift Lab.
Previously, in April 2024, HYBE issued a press release stating that former CEO Min had practiced so-called "shamanistic management" by discussing company issues with a shaman, and that ADORE’s executives had allegedly conspired to terminate NewJeans’ exclusive contract. In response, Min filed a criminal complaint, arguing that the press release contained false information that interfered with ADORE’s business and defamed her reputation.
The prosecution found that there was evidence confirming that Min had actually discussed ADORE management matters with a shaman, making it difficult to consider the content of the press release as false. The prosecution confirmed that Min had exchanged several KakaoTalk messages with the shaman about ADORE’s management issues, and while the language used in the press release may have been somewhat exaggerated, it was determined that its core content could not be deemed false.
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Additionally, the prosecution found no grounds for defamation in the case regarding Belift Lab’s posting of a YouTube video refuting allegations that its group ILLIT had plagiarized NewJeans. The prosecution also dismissed the lawsuit alleging violation of the Information and Communications Network Act, which claimed that HYBE had unlawfully accessed ADORE employees’ emails during the audit, finding that these actions were taken within the scope of legitimate audit authority.
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