[theqoo/naver] [EXCLUSIVE] ‘ADOR’S ILLEGAL DETENTION’ CLAIM BY NEWJEANS’ MANAGER… MINISTER OF EMPLOYMENT CONCLUDES “NO CHARGE”

It has been confirmed that the case in which NewJeans manager A filed a workplace har***ment report against ADOR CEO Kim Ju-young was concluded as “no charges” after an investigation by the authorities.

A was the person who took on the responsibility of contacting advertisers without involving ADOR (a major subsidiary of HYBE) after NewJeans’ independent declaration of contract termination at the end of November last year.

ADOR, which claims the contract is still valid, saw this as an act of illegal conduct and conducted an audit on A. However, A claimed it was workplace har***ment and filed a complaint against CEO Kim to the Ministry of Employment and Labor in December.

A complaint is when a citizen reports their situation to the government or public institutions and requests them to take action.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor: “Unable to confirm workplace har***ment.”

According to the industry on the 24th, the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office under the Ministry of Employment and Labor recently concluded an investigation into the complaint filed by former ADOR employee A against CEO Kim, and found no charges. The investigation concluded with “administrative closure (no charges)” because the evidence submitted by the complainant alone could not confirm workplace har***ment.

In December last year, A claimed in media interviews that ADOR had lured them into what seemed like a business meeting and then illegally detained them for about three hours, demanding the submission of their personal phone, and that workplace har***ment had occurred. A reported this to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Previously, the members of NewJeans also appealed through a statement, saying, “We witnessed managers and the performance director, who help with our schedules, being deprived of their laptops and subjected to investigations without notice, showing signs of serious har***ment. We find it hard to understand such actions toward the staff who are continuing the remaining schedules.”

In response, ADOR said, “The staff member in charge of artist management (referring to A) directly contacted advertisers and urged them to sign contracts with the artists, excluding the company. The manager themselves admitted to this communication. This is a serious violation of the artist’s exclusive contract.”

ADOR continued, “As a result, the employee was placed on administrative leave, and the company demanded the return of the company’s laptop. There were no illegal detention or coercive actions during this process. The company made several attempts to meet with the employee to provide an opportunity to explain, but the employee refused all of them.”

The Ministry of Employment and Labor’s investigation result is seen as supporting ADOR’s claim that “there was no coercive behavior.”

There are also other cases where the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s complaints led to a conclusion of no charges. L, the former ADOR deputy representative, who was seen as a co-conspirator by HYBE in relation to Min Heejin, the former CEO of ADOR, also reported workplace har***sment by HYBE’s executives. This case, too, was concluded as administrative closure.

In September last year, L reported that HYBE’s management conducted an illegal audit, including coercing the collection of information assets, and filed workplace har***ment complaints against five executives of HYBE. After a thorough investigation of both parties’ claims, the authorities also concluded that there were no charges.

This case is interpreted as having been filed under Min Heejin’s direction in an attempt to interfere with HYBE’s re-investigation of s**ual har***mentand workplace har***ment complaints filed by former ADOR employee B against L.