Min Hee-jin's side says HYBE had final say over NewJeans contracts

In response to foreign media reports that group NewJeans' exclusive contract contained unfair clauses, HYBE has stated that former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin was the contracting party at the time. In response, Min Hee-jin, the representative of OAKK Records and former CEO of Ador, countered that HYBE held the final approval authority. "It is time for HYBE to move beyond the absurd notion that Min Hee-jin is responsible for everything and demonstrate accountability and a willingness to improve for the future of K-pop," Min's side said in an official statement released Thursday. It criticized the company for shifting responsibility onto its subsidiary, pointing to a decision-making structure under which contracts could not be finalized without approval from HYBE's CEO. The dispute follows a report by The New York Times that exclusive contracts signed by NewJeans members when they were minors contained unfair provisions. In response, HYBE and Ador said they had signed supplementary agreements incorporating basic human rights protections into the contracts. They also said the wording had been ne