HYBE-owned label ADOR, which manages the K-pop group NewJeans, has appointed Lee Do-kyong as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Kim Ju-young after just a year.
That’s according to multiple news outlets out of South Korea on Wednesday (August 20), which reported that Lee joined HYBE in 2019 when it was still known as Big Hit Entertainment.
The Korea Herald reports that Lee helped shape corporate strategy and spearheaded new business ventures before taking charge of HYBE’s IPX division — which manages merchandise, immersive spaces and global licensing — in 2022.
Her responsibilities included overseeing merchandise operations, pop-up stores, and light stick operations across HYBE’s artist roster. One of Lee’s projects was “The City,” a fan experience program that extended artist branding throughout entire cities hosting HYBE concerts.
ADOR said in a statement cited by Korea Herald: “Having deemed the previous restructuring goals achieved, the board is now moving to an operational model focused on quickly supporting artists’ activities and driving business expansion.”
“Having deemed the previous restructuring goals achieved, the board is now moving to an operational model focused on quickly supporting artists’ activities and driving business expansion.”
ADOR
Lee succeeds Kim, who was appointed as CEO of ADOR in August 2024, replacing ADOR co-founder Min Hee-Jin amid a corporate power struggle. Min, who launched ADOR and developed NewJeans, was ousted following allegations that she attempted to seize control of the subsidiary from HYBE.
In a public letter issued in November, Min alleged that HYBE’s actions against her were retribution for her attempt to blow the whistle on misconduct within the K-pop giant.
The dispute continues in South Korean courts, with HYBE recently saying that it plans to appeal a decision by police not to file charges against Min.
“After more than a year of investigation, the police decided today not to forward either of HYBE’s complaints to prosecutors, having found no evidence of wrongdoing,” Min’s legal team said in a statement on Tuesday (July 15), as quoted in the Korea Times.
In response, HYBE said in a press release, as quoted at Korea JoongAng Daily: “There have been new developments made in the case after police investigations, such as the NewJeans members arguing that their contracts are invalid.”
“We have handed in numerous pieces of new evidence to court in related suits. The court has made firm decisions against Min based on such evidence and the Seoul High Court even deemed that Min is ‘intentionally sabotaging the very basis of an exclusive contract.’”
Separately, ADOR also faced a legal battle against NewJeans. In June, NewJeans failed to challenge a court injunction preventing them from pursuing independent activities without approval from ADOR, effectively ending their appeals process after missing a deadline.
The group, which has performed under the name NJZ since February, did not file an appeal to South Korea’s Supreme Court by the June 24 deadline. On May 30, the court warned NewJeans that they would be ordered to pay 1 billion South Korean won (USD $715,580) per member for each unauthorized activity outside their agency’s control, potentially totaling 5 billion won ($3.6 million) if all five members perform together.
Last month, NewJeans signaled their willingness to reconcile with ADOR, but only if the label returns to resembling the agency “that the members signed with”, their legal reps were quoted by Korea JoongAng Daily as saying on July 25.
The group’s legal reps said: “The root of this entire conflict lies in the audit launched by HYBE in April last year.” The said audit targeted Min.
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