[theqoo] LEE JAE-SANG, HYBE’S CSO IS A STRONG CANDIDATE TO REPLCE MIN HEEJIN AS ADOR’S CEO… CHANGES IN TASKS RELATED TO NEWJEANS ARE ANTICIPATED

According to investment banking (IB) industry sources, HYBE’s CSO Lee Jae-sang, HYBE’s CHRO Kim Joo-young, and HYBE’s CFO Lee Kyung-joon are among the leading candidates to be named to the new board of directors at the upcoming special meeting of ADOR’s shareholders on May 31st. 

The two agenda items for the upcoming Ador interim shareholders’ meeting are the dismissal of the current three board members, including CEO Min Heejin, and the appointment of three new board members. Consequently, it is reported that HYBE has been reviewing candidates for the ADOR board positions from early on.

Currently, HYBE’s C-level CEO Jae-sang Lee is the most likely candidate to take the helm of the new board. Lee Jae-sang was one of HYBE’s proposed candidates for the SM board during HYBE’s acquisition of SM Entertainment (SM). At the time, Lee Jae-sang was the head of HYBE America, and it was believed that he would be the new head of SM if HYBE acquired SM. Lee Jae-sang, then CEO of HYBE America, said that HYBE had already successfully operated the main business of ‘SM 3.0’ and suggested that a comprehensive review of SM’s existing strategy and the execution of the strategy based on the HYBE business model were key factors for success.

CHRO Kim Joo-Young was the first female head of human resources at Yuhan-Kimberly and was recruited by HYBE from her previous position as head of HR at Krafton. CFO Lee Kyung-joon has worked in accounting at Samil PwC, PwC Sydney, and Kim & Chang, and was one of the key contributors to HYBE’s KOSDAQ listing. He also serves as a board member of HYBE’s label, Source Music. 

These three HYBE C-level executives are said to have been rumored to be on the board of directors of ADOR since the beginning of the crisis. 

Lee Jae-sang, the CSO, is at the center of consideration, along with Jeong Jin-soo, HYBE’s CLO (Chief Legal Officer), and Lee Jin-hwa, HYBE’s Chief of Management Planning. All three are being mentioned as candidates for the new ADOR board members. They were also among the new director candidates proposed by HYBE during the SM acquisition battle.

HYBE plans to take this opportunity to change ADOR’s system to a dual leadership structure with a Chief Production Officer and a Chief Executive Officer. Currently, all other labels under HYBE, except ADOR, operate with this dual leadership structure. At ADOR, only CEO Min Heejin handles both the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Production Officer.

A senior HYBE representative said, “We have no plans to officially disclose the appointment of directors at the interim shareholders’ meeting of ADOR on the 31st,” but added, “Production and management are more efficient when each person focuses on what they are good at. It can be problematic when one person is also in charge of the other.” Therefore, after replacing the ADOR board members, HYBE may scout a new person for the Chief Production Officer role.

1. I’m so tired…

2. The CEO of HYBE Americaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

3. From the moment they started appointing people with no experience in entertainment to executive positions, it was clear there was no more hope. How can a company run well when the people in charge don’t know anything? It’s bound to failㅋㅋ

4. This made me swear. What are they doing by kicking out a perfectly capable CEO who’s generating good revenue? It’s ridiculous that they’re fabricating charges to cause all this mess. I hope the court grants the injunction at the upcoming interim shareholders’ meeting. You trashy f*ckers

5. What is ‘Unanswered Questions’ doing? This is the chance to recover your tarnished image from the FIFTY fiasco. This time, do things properly and broadcast the show

6. They’re just going all out… They could basically take over any other labels anytime they want.

7. So, will Min Heejin continue to work after being removed from the CEO position, or will she have to leave?

8. Ultimately, won’t they close Ador and merge it with Belift Lab? The separation would become meaningless…

9. They are failing…

10. HYBE won’t fail, but they’re going to quickly ruin the industry itself. They’re just milking it for as long as they could so do you really think that they’ll fail?ㅋㅋㅋ That’s why it’s even more infuriating. They want to crush any new attempts at innovation