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Min Hee-jin

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In this Korean name, the family name is Min.

Min Hee-jin
Min in 2024
Born (1979-12-16) December 16, 1979 (age 44)[1]
Seoul, South Korea
Other namesMHJ
EducationSeoul Women's University
Occupations
  • Music producer
  • art director
  • graphic designer
Years active2002–present
Korean name
Hangul
민희진
Hanja
閔熙珍
Revised RomanizationMin Huijin
McCune–ReischauerMin Hŭichin

Min Hee-jin (Korean: 민희진; born December 16, 1979) is a South Korean music producer,[2] art director, and graphic designer. She is the former CEO of ADOR, a subsidiary of entertainment company Hybe Corporation, and the former executive producer of K-pop girl group NewJeans. She was formerly a creative director at SM Entertainment, where she was responsible for the branding of groups such as Girls' Generation, Shinee, f(x), Exo, and Red Velvet.

Early life

Min was born on December 16, 1979 in Seoul, South Korea. She attended Seoul Women's University, where she received a degree in visual design.[3]

Career

2002–2018: SM Entertainment

Min joined SM Entertainment in 2002 as a graphic designer. She was later promoted to creative director and led the visual branding of groups such as Girls' Generation, Shinee, f(x), Exo and Red Velvet.[4] Her role involved overseeing the planning and production of album artwork, costumes and music videos, as well as building the artist's brand identity through non-visual means. For instance, she created an exhibition to commemorate the release of f(x)'s 4 Walls album (2015), and engaged fans in a deductive game titled "Pathcode" as part of promotions for Exo's 2015 album Exodus.[5] During her tenure at SM, she received attention for her innovative, experimental approach to art direction, which differed from the formulaic style used by first-generation K-pop idols.[6] Min is credited with shifting the visual direction of the K-pop industry to become more concept-driven,[7][8] and is particularly noted for her work on f(x)'s 2013 album Pink Tape.[9] She joined SM's board of directors in 2017,[4] but left the company at the end of 2018 due to burnout.[3][10]

2019–2024: Hybe Corporation

Min joined Hybe Corporation in 2019 as chief brand officer and oversaw the company's rebranding,[4] including the design of the new logo and the new work space in Yongsan.[11][12][13] She was appointed CEO of Hybe's new subsidiary ADOR (All Doors One Room) in November 2021. Min shared in a statement, "Our label won't hesitate to accept new challenges and strive to create artist IP and content containing ADOR's unique philosophy."[14] The label unveiled its first girl group NewJeans in July 2022,[15] with Min leading their creative direction and development.[14] They released their debut self-titled extended play on August 1.[15] In 2023, Min was awarded the Seoul City Culture Award by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for her work with NewJeans.[16]

On August 27, 2024, Min was dismissed as the CEO of ADOR, following a protracted conflict with Hybe's top executives regarding NewJeans control and activities. She retained her position in the company's board of directors and as a producer of the group. Min has opposed the decision, stating that the dismissal is a "grave violation of the shareholders' agreement".[17] On November 20, 2024, Min resigned from her director position at Ador.[18]

Controversies

Sexualization of minors

Min has been accused by online users of drawing inspirations for the groups she manages from sexually charged media that involve minors. Min was seen sharing pictures of her apartment on Instagram which showcased images that refer to the 1974 film I'll Take Her Like a Father, among others. Min has also been accused of allowing revealing clothes that mimic those of school girls for f(x) and sexual innuendos on the lyrics of the track "Cookie" for NewJeans. In response, ADOR announced they have taken legal action against the allegations.[19][20][21][22]

Dispute with Hybe

On April 22, 2024, Hybe Corporation started an internal audit on Min and her executives for allegedly attempting to seize full control of ADOR, and publicly called for Min's resignation as the CEO.[23][24] In response, Min issued a public statement rebutting the allegation, claiming that it would have been impossible for her to seize control of ADOR since Hybe owns 80% of the shares.[25] Min claimed that she was asked to resign because of her complaints towards the creative similarities in artistic direction between NewJeans and Illit, a girl group that had debuted under Hybe's subsidiary label Belift Lab. Min blamed Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who oversaw the production of Illit's debut, for failing to address the creative similarities between the two groups.[26] Following the dispute, Hybe Corporation's share value fell by 12.17%.[27]

Hybe subsequently released the findings of their investigations to support the claims made against Min, including messages exchanged on KakaoTalk between Min and ADOR's vice president, where the latter listed methods to take control of NewJeans' activities.[28][29] Hybe also filed a complaint to authorities against Min for breach of trust.[30] Min addressed the allegations on April 25, 2024, at an emergency press conference, accompanied by her two lawyers. She stated that there was no concrete plan to leave Hybe, and that tensions with Hybe executives started when Le Sserafim's debut was prioritized over NewJeans'.[31] Following the press conference, Korean public opinion reportedly sided in Min's favor, viewing her as a creator uninterested in politics that couldn't get her concerns and efforts to be recognized by Hybe. Others criticized Min for explicitly mentioning other groups' names and perceived her copycat accusations as groundless.[32]

On May 7, Min filed an injunction against Hybe to prevent the company from exercising its voting rights at the next shareholders' meeting, where she expected to be removed as CEO of ADOR.[33][34] On May 17, the hearing for Min's injuction began, and the members of NewJeans filed a petition with the Seoul Central District Court to prevent Min's dismissal from ADOR.[35][36] That same day, Min's alleged KakaoTalk chats were leaked, showing Min making disparaging remarks about NewJeans, as well as their fans, with a colleague.[37][38] On May 19, NewJeans' parents submitted their own petition to the court in Min's favor,[39] while several executives of Hybe, Pledis Entertainment, and Source Music, including producers and creative directors of BTS, Le Sserafim, and Tomorrow X Together reportedly submitted petitions in support of Hybe.[40] On May 22, Belift filed a complaint to authorities against Min for defamation regarding her accusations of plagiarism.[41]

On May 30, the court upheld the injunction filed by Min, disallowing Hybe from exercising its voting rights to dismiss her as CEO,[42] stating that there was no actual implementation stage to gain full control of ADOR.[43] During the next shareholders' meeting, two executives of ADOR close to Min were dismissed from their functions and replaced by Hybe's board members.[44]

On August 27, Min was dismissed as the CEO of ADOR by the current board members. Hybe stated that "the separation of production and management has been a consistent principle of (Hybe's) multi-label system". Min disagreed, stating that it was a "grave violation of the shareholders' agreement".[45] Two weeks after the dismissal, the members of NewJeans made a public demand for HYBE to reinstate Min as the CEO of ADOR by September 25, in a live stream held on YouTube.[46] Following the public demand, Hybe Corporation's share value fell by nearly 3%.[47] Despite the conflict, Min vowed to move forward with NewJeans' future plans in an interview with TV Asahi, stating that she "[has] a plan to overcome these challenges".[48] On October 29, Min's injunction to be reinstated as CEO of ADOR was rejected by the Seoul Central District Court.[49]

On November 26, Min filed a criminal complaint against Hybe's CCO Park Tae-hee and a PR director identified as Cho. Her representatives claimed in a statement that Park and Cho "not only failed to fulfil their obligations but caused significant damage to NewJeans and ADOR by downplaying the group's achievements", while adding that they hope "appropriate criminal penalties are imposed".[50][51] On December 2, Korean tabloid outlet Dispatch published an article which argued that Min had been manipulating NewJeans' members against Hybe. In response Min filed a defamation case against two Dispatch reporters and two Hybe top executives, claiming that her private conversations had been used illegally in the article.[52][53][54]

Alleged cover-up of sexual harassment

On August 8, 2024, a former female employee of ADOR accused Min of covering up her complaint of alleged sexual harassment where she was subjected to "daily harassment" and sexist comments by a male superior in the company, such as "eating with young women is better than just eating with men", to coerce her to attend a dinner meeting with alcohol involved. An investigation by Hybe concluded that the incidents did not constitute workplace or sexual harassment, however Min allegedly berated the female staff member with expletives for making the complaint and sided with the superior rather than the former employee, who resigned on March 21, 2024. This incident was first reported by Dispatch back in July 2024 and Min reportedly denied the allegations prior to the alleged victim speaking up and demanding Min to apologize to her.[55]

In response, on August 13, Min released a lengthy media statement; she called the allegations "a baseless attempt to push for [Min's] dismissal", claiming that the former employee was not harassed by the company but rather the company had to deal with the employee's alleged ineptitude despite her salary level that was equivalent to an executive, and that the former employee had resigned due to her salary being cut. On that same day when Min released her statement, the former employee reiterated her claims once again.[56][57] The former employee refuted the claims made by Min, stating that nearly all of her former co-workers from ADOR evaluated her as "highly recommended" or "recommended" despite Min's assertion of her inept work performance, and stated that the male superior had earlier made an apology pertaining to the case in private messages to Min, and she added that Hybe agreed to re-investigate her case, for which she submitted the necessary documents for the matter. The former female employee also expressed her intention to bring Min to court for her alleged misconduct.[58]

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
Golden Disc Awards 2024 Producer Award Min Hee-jin Won [59]
Korea Content Awards 2023 Presidential Commendation Won [60]
MAMA Awards 2016 Best Visual & Art Director Won [61]
2022 Breakout Producer Won [62]

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement
Publisher Year Listicle Placement Ref.
Billboard 2023 International Power Players Placed [63]
Women in Music – Multisector Placed [64]

References

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  61. ^ Choi, Hyun-seok (December 2, 2016). MAMA 베스트 제작자상 방시혁·프로듀서상 블랙아이드필승 [MAMA Best Producer Award Bang Si-hyuk, Producer Award Black Eyed Pilseung]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022 – via Naver.
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