Min Hee-jin even targeted the Hiveta girl group...○○○ Come and visit XXXX.
Nov 07, 2025
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The Civil Division 41 of the Seoul Central District Court (Judge Chung Hoe-il) said in the first trial of the exclusive contract validation lawsuit filed by Adore against Newzins on the 30th of last month that "the exclusive contract should be maintained."I raised Adore's hand. The court said `Former representative Min led public opinion, legal action and evidence collection to separate Newzins from Hib"I judged.
According to the ruling, Min has discussed his plan for independence in a group chat room with his aides since February last year. When an aide said "The goal is to give Hive a hard time and we get our freedom," Min replied "That would be nice."
In addition, former representative Min suggested the timing in March last year that "Changing the plan, sending the first (attack) on April 3rd and preparing for a public opinion war," and in fact, a protest e-mail was sent to Hive on the same day that 'Newzins was copied by another group'." He also said "I bet (the lawsuit) on a key issue, and the rest goes to the public opinion battle."
In particular, it was confirmed that former representative Min repeated his instructions to find data to highlight Hive's responsibility. He said "Let's look for more evidence, whether it's the Fair Trade Commission or a violation of commercial law. The more, the better,' he said, asking his aides for additional cases, pointing to other girl groups under Hive, saying there must be something more, whether it's ○○○○, XXXX, ○○○, XXX.
The court also judged it important to have a conversation in which former representative Min ordered to systematically find cases of problems related to other girl groups under Hive. The Tribunal intended to create Hive's responsibility to justify Adore's independence, rather than a move to protect Newzynes"I judged.
Former representative Min was found to have suggested using protest mails from parents of Newzins members as a 'strategic card'. Former representative Min ordered the development of the public opinion war, saying, `Why don't mothers send their own e-mails this time?'" and "You can change it to a man's voice."
In fact, in May last year, the parents of the members sent an e-mail to Hive saying they lacked the will to protect the value of Newzynes, and since then, they have consistently supported former representative Min.
The ruling is interpreted as the court clearly putting a brake on 'tempering' (the act of taking out key artists from other companies), which has long been pointed out as a problem in the K-pop industry. The court said "We cannot allow a celebrity to easily leave the contract on the grounds of management issues after success with the company's full investment."
After the results of the lawsuit, Audor said he would wait for the artists to return, saying, `I hope this ruling will serve as an opportunity to look back on the situation.' On the other hand, Sejong, a law firm that is a legal representative for the members of Newzins, expressed his intention to appeal, saying, `It is impossible to return at a time when trust has already broken down.'
rightlight@sportschosun.com
