KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — South Korean online media outlet Dispatch recently confirmed that a series of KakaoTalk messages between ADOR chief executive Min Hee-jin and other ADOR staff was leaked by HYBE.
Published on July 25, 2024, the text messages included in Dispatch’s exposé contained both previously reported messages and new ones, such as where Min allegedly called HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk a “r*tard.”
Dispatch’s latest report included a disclaimer that HYBE was the source of the KakaoTalk messages.
In the article, Dispatch wrote, “The KakaoTalk screenshots that appear in this article were provided by HYBE in their audit report submitted to an external agency.”
Min is the creative director of the popular K-pop girl group NewJeans, who are signed under ADOR, which is a subsidiary label of HYBE.
Since the start of the feud between HYBE and Min, online users have expressed suspicions that HYBE leaked internal information to sway public opinion in its favour.
This came on the heels of an exclusive report from MTN yesterday, saying that HYBE CEO Park Ji-won has decided to step down from his post.
The feud began when HYBE accused Min of staging a takeover of the company with different stakeholders, while she blamed HYBE for plagiarising NewJeans’ concept with their latest girl group ILLIT.