NewJeans’ source was Source Music “Min Hee-jin, self-contradiction of all-creation theory”
Minji joined Source Music in 2017, while Hanni joined in 2019. They both qualified through a global audition hosted by Big Hit and Source Music
Haerin and Danielle signed trainee contracts in 2020. The last member, Hyein, was discovered online, passed the audition and joined Source Music.
Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Danielle and Hyein were handpicked by So Sung-jin, the CEO of Source Music, and received training at Source Music until the second half of 2021.
Min Hee-jin transferred to HYBE in 2019, where she served as the CBO overseeing the brand for HYBE’s affiliates.
“She plans to take charge of creative directing for multiple labels and lead the launch of new girl groups. Additionally, she plans to establish a new label to expand capabilities in scouting and music production.” (HYBE’s press release)
Min Hee-jin was originally supposed to prepare the debut lineup for Source Music. However, she wanted to lead her own label first, which led to the birth of ADOR.
Min Hee-jin chose trainees from Source Music, including Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Danielle and Hyein, and transferred them to ADOR. In return, Source Music was compensated for the training costs.
Is Min Hee-jin the “mother” of NewJeans? She sent them out to the world. She made them better than anyone else could have. But the person who actually “gave birth to NewJeans” is So Sung-jin, who dedicated over three years to them.
Of course, there’s no denying Min Hee-jin’s contributions. Therefore, Min Hee-jin was rewarded. In the first quarter of 2023, HYBE’s board of directors allowed her to buy ADOR’s shares (old shares) at a low price instead of stock options.
As a result, Min Hee-jin owns 18% (573,160 shares) of ADOR and became the second largest shareholder. For Min Hee-jin, this was a “great move” that allowed her to avoid 45% tax.
That’s because ADOR is an unlisted company. At the time Min Hee-jin received the shares, ADOR was a loss-making company. In 2022, its revenue was 18.6 billion won, with an operating loss of 4 billion won.
If Min Hee-jin had received stock options, she would have had to pay 45% tax at the time of acquisition. However, by receiving shares from a loss-making company, Min Hee-jin avoided the tax.
Moreover, stock options can only be exercised while in office. If Min Hee-jin attempts to become independent, the stock disappears. However, shares can be freely sold.
Min Hee-jin also has put options. This is the right to resell at a mutually agreed price. The size of the put options she contracted with HYBE is estimated to be around 100 billion won.
In an interview last year, Min Hee-jin said, “At the time, I received similar investment proposals from other places, so there was no reason it had to be HYBE.”
It is liable to be misunderstood. She’s a beneficiary of HYBE’s system. NewJeans members also utilized HYBE’s trainee pool. She didn’t discover them; she chose them.
Min Hee-jin can take credit for NewJeans’ success. Conversely, if they fail, HYBE would bear the burden. In other words, the glory of NewJeans isn’t solely her to claim.
Source: dispatch
