Bang Si-hyuk vs. Min Hee-jin: $3M Loan Dispute Heads to Full Trial

A loan dispute between Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, and Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of ADOR, is moving from a court-ordered payment procedure to a full civil trial. Min, who now leads OK RECORDS, filed an objection to a court order requiring her to repay approximately 4.2 billion won, roughly $3 million.

In May, the Seoul Western District Court issued a payment order at Bang's request, directing Min to pay back 4,210,600,000 won. Bang had filed for the payment order in April, after the loan's repayment deadline had passed. A payment order is a procedure through which a court can order a debtor to pay based on documentary review, without initially holding a trial.

Min filed her objection in July. Once a debtor files an objection, the payment order loses its legal effect, and the dispute proceeds as an ordinary civil lawsuit. The case was filed as a civil action at the Seoul Western District Court that same month, then transferred to the Seoul Central District Court based the jurisdictional terms of the contract between the two parties. The process delayed the lawsuit by several months. Some legal observers see the objection as a potential delaying tactic, since there is a written contract and a specified repayment deadline.

The loan dates back to 2023, when Min acquired her stake in ADOR. In March of that year, she purchased 573,160 shares of ADOR, representing 17.8 percent of the company, from HYBE for about 3.738 billion won. Min borrowed 3.7 billion won of that purchase amount from Bang personally. The transaction was also discussed during a trial in February concerning payment for the share purchase. In effect, Min borrowed money from Bang to become the second-largest shareholder of ADOR, then used that position to clash with Bang, the largest shareholder.

The amount Bang is now seeking is 510.6 million won more than the 3.7 billion won principal. The difference reflects three years of simple interest at an annual rate of 4.6 percent. The 4.6 percent rate is reportedly based on the statutory rate for calculating reasonable interest under South Korean tax law. Interest will continue to accrue as the lawsuit proceeds.