HYBE has appointed Lee Bo Young, a top branding expert from Shinsegae Group, as a key executive following the departure of former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. The move comes amid an ongoing legal and creative dispute involving the popular girl group NewJeans.
Lee Bo Young is known as the trusted advisor to Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Jung Yoo Kyung. She resigned from Shinsegae in May 2025 and will officially join HYBE by the end of the month. Industry insiders say she will work at HYBE’s main company, not its subsidiary ADOR, though her exact role is still unclear.
“It is true that Executive Director Lee is going to HYBE,” an insider revealed. “Very few people within HYBE know about this yet. The information has only been shared with some executives.” HYBE has not confirmed her appointment publicly.
Lee Bo Young has a strong background in branding and design. She previously worked as Global Creative Director at Google and Creative Director at Sephora (LVMH). At Shinsegae, she led major projects like the redesign of the Gangnam department store’s food hall.
Many see her hiring as HYBE’s effort to fill the gap left by Min Hee Jin, who was removed as ADOR CEO after a public feud with HYBE. The dispute involved accusations of plagiarism, power struggles, and legal battles over control of NewJeans.
NewJeans members have openly supported Min Hee Jin. During a deleted livestream, member Minji said, “Seeing the people who poured their lives into creating our work being treated this way makes it hard to understand how this could be happening.” Member Danielle also called Min Hee Jin “our mother and warrior.”
Fans have mixed reactions to Lee Bo Young’s hiring. Some question if a branding expert can replace Min Hee Jin’s creative role.
“Can’t they hire an actual expert in the entertainment industry instead?” one fan commented online. “Didn’t they learn from how Park Ji Won ran things and made fans angry?”
“Calling her Min Hee Jin’s successor doesn’t fit,” another wrote. “She’s accomplished, but this seems like just adding another female executive.”
The legal battle between HYBE and Min Hee Jin continues. A court recently ruled that HYBE could not force her out as ADOR CEO, but HYBE has vowed to keep fighting. Meanwhile, NewJeans has hired 13 lawyers to handle their contract dispute with ADOR.
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