HYBE Denies Adoor's Claim of "Illegal Audit" Amid Accusations That Min Heejin, Adoor Team Leader, Ignored Embezzlement

"Team Leader Adore, Under Min Heejin's Approval, Received Hundreds of Millions in Bribes from Outsourcing Companies"

In response to Adore's claim that HYBE's audit team conducted an illegal audit accompanied by threats, HYBE rebutted by presenting evidence of embezzlement suspicions involving a team leader from Adore, stating that "all audit procedures were conducted lawfully in a non-coercive atmosphere."

On the 10th, HYBE stated in a press release, "The audit conducted on the evening of the 9th on a certain team leader of Adore by our audit team was carried out with the consent of the auditee and all procedures were lawfully conducted in a non-coercive atmosphere."

Earlier, Adore issued an official statement just before the board meeting, claiming that HYBE's audit team conducted an illegal audit. In the statement, Adore said, "Until the early hours of today (the 10th), Adore members suffered due to an illegal audit based on HYBE audit team's unreasonable issues," adding, "The audit lasted over five hours, and eventually, the audit team followed the member, who was working inside the company, all the way to their home, demanding not only their laptop but also their personal phone, which is not company property, thus conducting an audit beyond the scope of work."

CEO Min Hee-jin of ADOR has filed an injunction to prohibit the exercise of voting rights against HYBE, continuing the conflict between HYBE and CEO Min. The photo was taken on the 8th at HYBE headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to HYBE, the reason for the audit conducted the previous day was that the style directing team leader of Adore received money paid by advertisers instead of receiving incentives from Adore. HYBE viewed this action as embezzlement suspicions, while Adore countered that no financial damage was caused to the company, so it was not an issue.

HYBE stated, "The team leader admitted to receiving hundreds of millions of won in money and goods from an external contractor over several years with the approval of CEO Min. The team leader also expressed willingness to submit their laptop, which was left at home, to the company," adding, "Accordingly, with the team leader's consent, only female employees accompanied the team leader into their home and retrieved the laptop."

HYBE continued, "As CEO, Min has not taken any follow-up actions such as recovering or punishing the illegally received amounts," and added, "We expect that during the subsequent investigation, it will be clearly revealed where the hundreds of millions of won in illicit profits received by the team leader flowed, and we will take all civil and criminal actions regarding this matter."

HYBE also disclosed conversations between CEO Min and his close associates obtained through the audit related to this issue.

According to the conversation, CEO Min said, "Tell them to notify about the change in advertising work using HYBE as an excuse, saying 'HYBE has raised an issue,'" and added, "Humans are cunning; when they receive unexpected benefits, they say thank you but often cannot truly gauge the magnitude of that gratitude. However, if they are penalized and put in the same position as others (even if there is no actual loss), resentment usually arises."

He also said, "This is actually a big internal problem, so before HYBE catches us, this is a task we need to handle first," and "Isn't there a possibility of an audit issue arising?"

HYBE stated, "CEO Min is well aware that large sums of money and goods were received with his tacit approval," adding, "When HYBE HR inquired about this matter, Min, knowing the seriousness of the issue, downplayed it as if it were nothing. Internally, he is discussing stopping the team leader's receipt of money and goods using HYBE as an excuse."

HYBE expressed, "We strongly regret CEO Min's side attempting to mislead the public once again by issuing a statement based on false information. This is a serious defamation of the company," and added, "We will take all possible civil and criminal actions regarding this matter."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.