Is Min Hee-jin's $18 million olive branch worth anything to HYBE?

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Is Min Hee-jin's $18 million olive branch worth anything to HYBE?

Published: 27 Feb. 2026, 18:29 Updated: 01 Mar. 2026, 17:14

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Min Hee-jin, former ADOR CEO and founder of ooak records, attends a press conference in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 25. [NEWS1]

[REPORTER'S DIARY]

Min Hee-jin, the architect behind NewJeans, has once again upended the script with a proposal to give up a 25.6 billion won ($17.7 million) payday if HYBE drops all ongoing lawsuits involving her and the girl group.

It is a dramatic turn — the rebellious creative director extending an olive branch, forgoing a fortune for the sake of a clean break and a cause: restoring her girls, NewJeans, as a complete five-member group above all else.

Admittedly, the idea of closure sounds nice indeed. The Min-HYBE saga has dragged on for far too long across press conferences, court injunctions and damages suits, turning a corporate dispute into a culture war with one too many K-pop stars — from Le Sserafim and ILLIT to even BTS — pulled into the crossfire.

Peace, at this point, sounds almost radical.

And yet, from a strictly practical point of view — weighing only what there is to gain or lose at this point — it is difficult to see why HYBE would accept the current terms without further negotiations, which made Min's six-minute press conference feel less like a plausible option to the company than an appeal to fans and those who still tuned in.

To Min, a founder who has just launched a new agency with an ambition to debut a boy band, 25.6 billion won is, of course, a transformative amount of money. Even if the courts ultimately rule in favor of HYBE and its sub-labels in ongoing damage suits, which are worth around 12.5 billion won, Min could remain in surplus in theory.

But legal battles are not only about the number of zeros on a potential check, especially one that could change on appeal. They are about time and uncertainty. They are about the slow bleed of energy, reputation and opportunity.

Court proceedings could stretch on for years. During that time, every new venture Min launches would carry a permanent footnote, with the founder in dispute with her former employer. Investors read footnotes — and so do trainees and their parents.

In the meantime, both Min and HYBE must shoulder financial and reputational burdens as the cases drag on. The burden, however, is asymmetrical, with one being a conglomerate and the other a startup.

Meanwhile, HYBE’s incentives are not purely about financial gains or losses. Dropping all lawsuits would mean relinquishing not only potential damages but also a measure of vindication. As the company has framed the dispute as a matter of principle, withdrawing it now could look like a concession. As an entertainment powerhouse, narrative is important to HYBE, and a legal truce leaves the story suspended in ambiguity.

Imagine two timelines.

In the first, HYBE accepts. The lawsuits evaporate. Two years from now, the scandal is a case study in K-pop. A new boy band under Min debuts. Even though lingering animosity would inevitably haunt both her and the rookies, it comes after a closure, after the adults have settled the fight.

In another timeline, the lawsuits move forward. Each ruling reignites old arguments to a varying degree and extent. Every comeback by Min’s new boy band risks being collateral damage, and fandoms rearm.

Then what would HYBE gain by taking on the deal? Time and legal expenses saved, certainly, but likely not face, ceding symbolic ground to Min.

The reaction to the proposal has been mixed, to say the least. But many in Korea have now tuned out of the long-running feud, paradoxically leaving those who remain more polarized than ever.

It appears that the lines now run in near-perfect parallel. Min’s latest move, which she described as a step toward a meeting point, may instead feel to HYBE like an offer too bitter to swallow.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]