Prosecutors dismiss Min Hee-jin complaints over HYBE's 'shamanistic management' claims

Prosecutors declined to indict HYBE executives in a series of defamation complaints filed by former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, finding insufficient grounds for criminal charges.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office dismissed all complaints against six HYBE executives — including former CEO Park Ji-won — and four executives from the company's subsidiary label Belift Lab on May 27, according to legal sources on Thursday.

Min, who previously served as CEO of ADOR and was the executive producer of NewJeans, had accused the HYBE and Belift Lab executives of obstruction of business, defamation and other offenses.

She filed a complaint with Yongsan Police Station, alleging that HYBE distributed false press releases in April 2024 claiming she had engaged in “shamanistic management” by consulting a shaman on ADOR's affairs and had conspired to terminate NewJeans' contracts.

Prosecutors found that while the phrase “shamanistic management” may have been somewhat exaggerated, it was difficult to regard it as false. They cited evidence showing that Min had in fact discussed ADOR's management with a shaman.

Prosecutors also found no grounds for charges in a separate complaint filed by Min over a YouTube video released by Belift Lab, which stated that girl group ILLIT had not copied NewJeans' choreography, styling or other creative elements.

Min had alleged that the video constituted defamation through the dissemination of false information.

Prosecutors likewise dismissed allegations that HYBE illegally accessed ADOR's emails and KakaoTalk messages in violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

They concluded that the information had been reviewed under HYBE's lawful audit authority and didn't constitute a criminal offense.

BY KIM EUN-BIN [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]