HYBE, which was ordered to pay 25.5 billion won (17M USD) in stock sale proceeds following former ADOR CEO Min Heejin’s exercise of her put option, has deposited funds with the court to prevent provisional enforcement of the ruling.
According to the legal community on the 25th, HYBE paid 29.25 billion won (20M USD) as a litigation security deposit to the Seoul Central District Court.
On the 12th, the 31st Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Nam In-soo) ruled in favor of former CEO Min in both HYBE’s lawsuit seeking confirmation of the termination of the shareholders’ agreement and Min’s lawsuit against HYBE seeking payment for the stock sale.
In response, HYBE filed an appeal on the 19th against the first-trial ruling and also applied for a stay of compulsory execution.
On the 23rd, the 17th Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jang Ji-hye) granted the request, suspending compulsory execution of the put option payment until the appellate court issues its ruling.
Typically, in civil litigation, the losing party may apply for a stay of execution to prevent provisional enforcement of a judgment.
Unless there are special circumstances, courts generally grant such requests on the condition that the party provides collateral, such as depositing a certain amount in cash or submitting a guarantee insurance certificate.
In November 2021, shortly after establishing its subsidiary ADOR, HYBE signed a business agreement with Min that included stock option compensation. After NewJeans successfully debuted in March 2023, Min demanded additional compensation, leading to a separate shareholders’ agreement.
Under the contract, if Min exercised her put option, the right to sell shares at a predetermined price at a certain time, she would be entitled to receive from HYBE an amount equivalent to 75% of her ADOR shareholding, calculated as 13 times ADOR’s average operating profit over the previous two years.
However, in July 2024, HYBE filed a lawsuit seeking confirmation of the termination of the shareholders’ agreement, claiming that Min had planned and executed an attempt to “take NewJeans” and thereby breached the contract. HYBE argued that the shareholders’ agreement had already been terminated and that it had no obligation to pay the put option amount.
Min countered that HYBE’s claims were a “novel fabricated through stitched-together KakaoTalk messages” and an attempt at “taming the label,” and in November 2024 filed a countersuit seeking payment for the stock sale. She argued that she had exercised the put option while the contract was still valid and therefore had the right to claim payment.
The first-trial court ruled that “HYBE shall pay 25.5 billion won to former CEO Min, 1.7 billion won to former Vice President Shin, and approximately 1.4 billion won to former Director Kim.”The court found that there was no significant contractual breach by Min that would justify concluding the shareholders’ agreement had been terminated prior to her exercise of the put option. It also determined that exploring ADOR’s independence or raising concerns that ILLIT had copied NewJeans did not clearly exceed the scope of managerial judgment.
The court stated, “The loss of 25.6 billion won resulting from contract termination is relatively clear and substantial,” adding, “There must be a serious breach sufficient to justify termination, and it is difficult to recognize this based solely on abstract risk.”
Meanwhile, at a press conference held that day, Min publicly proposed that she would forgo receiving the 25.6 billion won related to the put option if all legal disputes with HYBE were brought to an end.
![[theqoo] ALLDAY PROJECT YOUNGSEO WHO OPENED A PETSTAGRAM AFTER ADOPTING A PUREBRED CAT FROM A PET SHOP](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaBfkO1KlMAi-cAGo33AC2gi7aSBdjD8qijEsMDo2411lfJNTaDMhzFgMFypVcB79gf04LPZdzwI8gz1i76aKD8Zq6F8k2VHSdlJNf3-nYhbBmOCrdMSCIOGMQHFJ1rNdHpBQt1fEVx3lEPELkjTWEruQ13qS-yBiGFAY_WbC_zRptz13KbdY81BOgOMQX=w72-h72-p-k-no-nu)
![[instiz] KATSEYE IN A NEW R**ISM CONTROVERSY](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv8FnfXgOLdeMR4F_IU1KqJP1Ff5NmTiSpl3Zrrt50TxycLcweWqOPzCEKxsXqS49cY376_6DVNMS-vogqKTf0hhO-SscMRzK_a_F5y89WhzhRfFpt9TORQpMW3YPtenb7OocG3cvokR1MIBHzMDpCG8B_FI9csViSxuwH6NCpaHog343NQpiRSejcU3r4=w72-h72-p-k-no-nu)
![[theqoo] MALE IDOL GETTING HIT BY TWO CONDOLENCE WREATHS AND A TRUCK JUST ONE MONTH AFTER DEBUT](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHI_dK4NT5g_q9HfLLcIt-y_ghVZijfOviyYPl1K5C09GXD-7hSfHp5Zi3YinQUJs2IRqLXSiPuo24ob2PQYPIRDI4U8vNvTR8uSwkF6-v6U5aMt-266_DlwqM9Xax5YJmFCoCjJuAGuD22JL4ybEa4NO8eyHPSmzLApsFowOycOeu2x5cO2h17M8mjfdi=w72-h72-p-k-no-nu)
![[theqoo] BTS MEMBER V AND MIN HEEJIN'S KATALK EXCHANGES WERE ALSO ACCEPTED BY THE COURT AS EVIDENCE THAT ILLIT WAS PLAGIARIZING NEWJEANS](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYbDh5aohcrPzhnLeMdaHGXzalHYhwiKkXMJx1VWPq4QRn5Zjkajw5iGHowgYC9u4DGJDHjmebSd2qlkWilT8nNrstSPav-t1rxnwqcZ539pmrK7aq_bcC-cCFq0FywgYatRMj-RlFXiQZVTkd8aLlLIYHPcpTpreFBBnC_Xs_ZVXu9w87pAmBDntRcivr=w72-h72-p-k-no-nu)
![[instiz] I JUST ATTENDED HEARTS2HEARTS' HI-FIVE EVENT](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifMQ_1wuAWZ_Sa-p5TIhXvuNYszn07UrhH715V-TNSUNgF59iW1yH1fdEpf6bRp3T7Zk9AWPXU9vkMLXr8x0mHxoQQ3USJ3tgV16n1fkjBZKnLSEJQY7M4YCyNWhyv9aymMXDw8cFCiF6vptT1sHskUpxa7v9Na-5DHnHI-VLavYASu3xQ6VxYTaka0mDG=w72-h72-p-k-no-nu)
0 Comments