[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk has filed a lawsuit against Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR (current CEO of OK Records), seeking the repayment of a 4.2 billion won loan. The case transitioned into a formal civil lawsuit after Min filed an objection to the payment order previously requested by Bang. The lawsuit is understood to be related to the 3.7 billion won borrowed by Min during her acquisition of ADOR shares in 2023.
According to BizHankook's reporting, the Seoul Western District Court accepted Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's request for a payment order last May, ordering former CEO Min Hee-jin to pay Bang 4.2106 billion won. Bang had previously applied for the payment order in April, demanding the return of the loan. A payment order is a legal procedure where the court orders the payment of money without questioning the debtor, based on the creditor's application.
Former CEO Min Hee-jin filed an objection to this payment order in July. Once a debtor legally files an objection, the payment order loses its effect within that scope and proceeds to a formal civil lawsuit. Consequently, the case was registered as a civil lawsuit at the Seoul Western District Court on the 28th of the same month. The case was later transferred to the Seoul Central District Court in accordance with the money loan agreement signed by the two parties.
The financial transaction between the two parties arose during the process of Min acquiring her stake in ADOR. In March 2023, Min purchased 573,160 shares (17.8%) of ADOR from HYBE for approximately 3.738 billion won. At the time, she borrowed 3.7 billion won of the purchase price from Chairman Bang. This fact was re-confirmed during the lawsuit proceedings regarding the claim for stock purchase payment and the confirmation of the termination of the shareholders' agreement, which reached a verdict last February.
The amount claimed in this lawsuit is 510.6 million won more than the original loan. This amount matches exactly the 3.7 billion won principal plus 4.6% simple annual interest over three years. The 4.6% rate is the appropriate interest rate under tax law used to calculate gift profits when borrowing money from others for free or at a low rate (below 4.6%). However, the actual interest rate applied to the loan agreement between the two parties and the specific method of calculating the principal and interest have not been confirmed.
Chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s demand for repayment comes after former CEO Min Hee-jin won her lawsuit against HYBE regarding the put option (stock purchase request right). Following the exercise of the put option under the shareholders' agreement signed with HYBE, Min filed a lawsuit demanding payment for the shares. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in February that HYBE must pay Min approximately 25.595 billion won. On the same day, the court also dismissed HYBE's claim to confirm the termination of the shareholders' agreement.
Immediately after winning the first trial, former CEO Min Hee-jin proposed an end to the dispute. Her proposal suggested ending all civil and criminal disputes with HYBE in exchange for waiving her rights to the approximately 25.6 billion won. This included dropping complaints and lawsuits against NewJeans members, outsourced partner companies, and former ADOR employees. However, HYBE appealed both the stock purchase payment claim and the first-instance verdict regarding the termination of the shareholders' agreement.