How Do Employees From HYBE, SM & Other Companies Think About Min Hee-jin In The Recent Issue?
The conflict over management rights between HYBE and ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin has been the hottest topic over the past week
After Min Hee-jin’s emergency press conference on April 25th, employees from HYBE and also her former agency SM Entertainment have been expressing various opinions on Blind, a community for office workers.
Apart from HYBE and SM employees, how do employees from other entertainment companies, such as YG and JYP, view this incident?
Unlike Min Hee-jin’s claim of HYBE’s discrimination against NewJeans and prevention of NewJeans’ promotions, almost all HYBE employees said NewJeans, the girl group under Min Hee-jin’s label ADOR, had never received mistreatment by HYBE.
◆ Min Hee-jin blocked connections between HYBE and NewJeans
HYBE employee A: “She didn’t even tell us about the group’s name, when the group will debut, and how you want the debut promotion to be, saying it was confidential, then how could we support the promotion? She wanted us to start launching the debut project by throwing debut promotion materials only 3 days before the debut. She treated the employees like giving them only five minutes to work.”
HYBE employee B expressed regrets over Min Hee-jin claiming NewJeans’s success as her own effort. In addition, employee C complained about Min Hee-jin not allowing them to communicate with NewJeans, saying “Isn’t she the person who never let the artists (NewJeans members) speak and cut connections between HYBE and the artists? It’s not that HYBE didn’t do anything for her. She refused and blocked everything”
◆ Why did Min Hee-jin save the document about taking over management rights stored in the company’s computer but called it a ‘joke’?
Saved under the title “Project 1945”, the controversial document contains scenarios from filing complaints to civil lawsuits and stimulating public opinions. It was the decisive evidence for HYBE to request Min Hee-jin to resign, but the female explained that the document was just a “personal memo” of a director.
HYBE employee D: “Seems like Min Hee-jin and ADOR executives think it is okay to joke around about getting out of HYBE as if they were chatting in Kakaotalk. Creating secret stories into documents for archiving? Among all the issues that have been unveiled so far, this is the most ridiculous one… Who would ever keep records of private conversations like this?”
Other employees acknowledged Min Hee-jin’s talent but pointed out her lack of objectivity in perception.
HYBE employee F: “In fact, Min Hee-jin’s press conference is a mix of truth and lies, but this person may have believed that she did nothing wrong. CEO Min may have shown exceptional talents in certain areas, but she lacks the ability to empathize and awareness objectivity.”
HYBE employee G: “If you examine her statements at the press conference carefully, did she ever recognize or appreciate the efforts of ADOR employees?”. Employee H agreed, “She never mentioned ADOR employees. This is a serious case of narcissism. I’m surprised to see her getting treated like a hero”.
◆ How do SM employees, who experienced working under Min Hee-jin’s leadership longer than HYBE employees, react?
SM employee A: “Even in SM, she was a ** person. But she doesn’t seem to be someone who can break the mold”.
SM employee commented under a post by HYBE’s employee, saying “I understand you. Be strong. She did that to us, too”.
SM employee C: “She thinks she’s the best, the most talented person and disregards others’ work and personalities without hesitationㅋㅋㅋㅋ As a regular employee, she should be quiet”.
◆ Employees from Kakao, FNC, YG, etc. were surprised to see Min Hee-jin complain of a ‘slave contract’ despite receiving 1 billion won in salary.
Kakao employee A: “Min Hee-jin is neither a weak person nor someone who fights for justice, but she already identified herself as a ‘slave’. Then I, who earns merely 3 million won a month, must be treated so unfairly. Come to think of her statement, it doesn’t make sense at all”.
In response to the Kakao employee, FNC and YG employees responded, “I agree with you”, “This is the most relatable comment I’ve seen in this incident”, etc.
Throughout the dispute, it was revealed that HYBE paid CEO Park Ji-won 1 billion won while label CEO Min Hee-jin received 2 billion won, twice as much as the salary of a HYBE CEO. Based on the financial statement, it is difficult to say HYBE treated Min Hee-jin unfairly. Moreover, HYBE even agreed to sell 18% stake in ADOR to Min Hee-jin at a low price.
That’s the reason HYBE, ADOR, and SM employees cannot sympathize with Min Hee-jin’s remarks about a “slave contract”.
