Min Hee-jin

Min Hee-jin (born December 16, 1979) is a South Korean art director and graphic designer. She is the current CEO of ADOR, a subsidiary of entertainment company Hybe Corporation, where she previously served as chief brand officer. She was formerly a creative director at SM Entertainment, where she was responsible for the branding of groups such as Girls' Generation, Shinee, f(x), Exo, and Red Velvet.

Early life
Min was born on December 16, 1979 in Seoul, South Korea. She attended Seoul Women's University, where she received a degree in visual design.

2002–2018: SM Entertainment
Min joined SM Entertainment in 2002 as a graphic designer. She was later promoted to creative director and led the visual branding of groups such as Girls' Generation, Shinee, f(x), Exo and Red Velvet. Her role involved overseeing the planning and production of album artwork, costumes and music videos, as well as building the artist's brand identity through non-visual means. For instance, she created an exhibition to commemorate the release of f(x)'s 4 Walls album (2015), and engaged fans in a deductive game titled "Pathcode" as part of promotions for Exo's 2015 album Exodus. During her tenure at SM, she received attention for her innovative, experimental approach to art direction, which differed from the formulaic style used by first-generation K-pop idols. Min is credited with shifting the visual direction of the K-pop industry to become more concept-driven, and is particularly noted for her work on f(x)'s 2013 album Pink Tape. She joined SM's board of directors in 2017, but left the company at the end of 2018 due to burnout.

2019–present: Hybe Corporation
Min joined Hybe Corporation in 2019 as chief brand officer and oversaw the company's rebranding, including the design of the new logo and the new work space in Yongsan. She was appointed CEO of Hybe's new subsidiary ADOR (All Doors One Room) in November 2021. Min shared in a statement, "Our label won't hesitate to accept new challenges and strive to create artist IP and content containing ADOR's unique philosophy." The label unveiled its first girl group NewJeans in July 2022, with Min leading their creative direction and development. They released their debut self-titled extended play on August 1. In 2023, Min was awarded the Seoul City Culture Award by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for her work with NewJeans.

Sexualization of minors
Min has been accused by online users of drawing inspirations for the groups she manages from sexually charged media that involve minors. Min was seen sharing pictures of her apartment on Instagram which showcased images that refer to the 1974 film I'll Take Her Like a Father, among others. Min has also been accused of allowing revealing clothes that mimic those of school girls for f(x) and sexual innuendos on the lyrics of the track "Cookie" for NewJeans. In response, ADOR announced they have taken legal action against the allegations.

Dispute with Hybe
On April 22, 2024, Hybe Corporation started an internal audit on Min and her executives for allegedly attempting to seize full control of ADOR, and publicly called for Min's resignation as the CEO. In response, Min issued a public statement refuting the allegation, claiming that it would have been impossible for her to seize control of ADOR since Hybe owns 80% of the shares. Min claimed that she was asked to resign because of her complaints towards the creative similarities in artistic direction between NewJeans and Illit, a girl group that had debuted under Hybe's subsidiary label Belift Lab. Min blamed Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who oversaw the production of Illit's debut, for failing to address the creative similarities between the two groups. Following the dispute, Hybe Corporation's share value fell by 12.17%.

Hybe subsequently released the findings of their investigations to support the claims made against Min, including messages exchanged on KakaoTalk between Min and ADOR's vice president, where the latter listed methods to take control of NewJeans' activities. Hybe also filed a complaint to authorities against Min for breach of trust. Min addressed the allegations on April 25, 2024, at an emergency press conference, accompanied by her two lawyers. She stated that there was no concrete plan to leave Hybe, and that tensions with Hybe executives started when Le Sserafim's debut was prioritized over NewJeans'.

On May 7, Min filed an injunction against Hybe to prevent the company from exercising its voting rights at the next shareholders' meeting, where she expected to be removed as CEO of ADOR. On May 17, the hearing for Min's injuction began, and the members of NewJeans filed a petition with the Seoul Central District Court to prevent Min's dismissal from ADOR. That same day, Min's alleged KakaoTalk chats were leaked, showing Min making disparaging remarks about NewJeans, as well as their fans, with a colleague. On May 19, NewJeans' parents submitted their own petition to the court in Min's favor. On May 22, Belift filed a complaint to authorities against Min for defamation regarding her accusations of plagiarism.

On May 30, the court upheld the injunction filed by Min, disallowing Hybe from exercising its voting rights to dismiss her as CEO, stating that there was no actual implementation stage to gain full control of ADOR. During the next shareholders' meeting, two executives of ADOR close to Min were dismissed from their functions and replaced by Hybe's board members.