Here’s how much NewJeans will have to pay as penalty if they terminate contract with HYBE; Min Hee Jin’s past chat estimates
NewJeans might have to pay a huge sum of penalty fee if they decide to terminate their contract with ADOR. Read on to know when Min Hee Jin estimated the amount.
On November 13, NewJeans submitted a formal notice to HYBE, stating that they would terminate their contract if their demands were not met. They mentioned six unresolved issues involving Hanni’s allegations of workplace harassment and their past photo leaks. At that time, many thought their ultimate goal might have been the reinstatement of Min Hee Jin as ADOR’s CEO.
However, on November 20, she announced her resignation as the internal director of ADOR, leading to many questions about the girl group’s future with the agency. As per their previously issued notice, if the quintet decides to terminate their contract with HYBE on November 27, they might have to pay a huge penalty fee. According to a report, they are looking at around 620 billion KRW termination fees with 124 billion estimated for each member.
This staggering figure is determined through NewJeans’ monthly revenue, which is around 2 billion KRW per member. This will be multiplied by 62 months remaining in their seven-year contract with ADOR.
As reported, this estimated penalty fee was discussed by Min Hee Jin and two former ADOR deputy CEOs on KakaoTalk in March of this year. The conversation was discovered at the time of her public feud with HYBE. During an injunction trial for blocking the agency’s exercise of voting rights, Min Hee Jin’s legal team claimed that the calculation and the damage assessment were just a rough method to estimate ADOR’s corporate value.
With November 27 fast approaching, all eyes are on whether NewJeans will decide to part ways with HYBE. If they do, there might be a possibility of the situation escalating into high-profile lawsuits involving billions of worth penalty fees.
On the other hand, on November 20, after a long-going feud with HYBE, involving multiple lawsuits, Min Hee Jin resigned from ADOR. Just a month ago, she was reappointed as the internal director of the agency, after losing her CEO position to Kim Joo Young. However, many criticized her for the sudden departure, even accusing of her ‘abandoning’ NewJeans in the feud with HYBE.
Meanwhile, the girl group still has five years left in the contract they signed with ADOR during their debut.