Min Hee Jin Speculated To Be Behind Youngseo's Departure From ILLIT Ahead of Debut

Amid the HYBE x ADOR drama, K-pop fans expressed their frustration as a new rumor states that Min Hee Jin was behind Youngseo's withdrawal from ILLIT before their official debut.

Here's what's going on.

Min Hee Jin Accused of Leaking Private Info, Spreading Fake News About Other Artists

On April 22, the conflict between ADOR and its mother agency, HYBE, sparked when the latter called for an emergency meeting and held an audit of their affiliate company.

This is concerning the accusations that CEO Min Hee Jin and other executives were trying to become independent from the main headquarters.

Founder Bang Si Hyuk then reportedly demanded Min resign from her position, but NewJeans' "mother" fought back and stated that it was "media play."

Based on the report, ADOR has planned the independence agenda since the start of the year and has been talking with potential investors to sell the company.

Along the process, contracts between ADOR and HYBE were leaked, and to pressure the parent company, Min Hee Jin's side also secretly formed negative opinions about HYBE's artists and coaxed their parents. This includes leaking their private information, photos, as well as medical records before debut.

Fortunately, someone gave a tip-off about these misconducts and the parent company called for an audit to clarify the facts of the reports.

ALSO READ: HYBE's New Girl Group I’LL-IT Faces Unexpected Twist— One Member Exits Right Before Debut

To defend herself, CEO Min gave an official statement and claimed that the discord between ADOR and HYBE actually started when she raised the issue of ILLIT (Belift Lab's girl group) copying NewJeans; hence, demanding her resignation.

Is Min Hee Jin Behind Youngseo's Departure from ILLIT Ahead of Debut?

When this report reached the knowledge of K-pop fans, especially the fans of ILLIT, they expressed their anger toward CEO Min Hee Jin, claiming that she's also the reason Youngseo left ILLIT even before their debut.

ILLIT was formed by HYBE x Belift Lab through JTBC's audition program, "R U Next?". They were supposed to debut as a sextet, but Youngseo, a fan-favorite due to her impressive skills, withdrew from the debut lineup without a clear reason.

At the time, fans were confused since the young trainee worked really hard to join the group; thus, people didn't believe that she would give up just like that.

Thus, when Min Hee Jin showed disfavor to ILLIT, K-pop fans accused the CEO of having something to do with it, especially since Youngseo was known to be a former member of NewJeans' pre-debut team.

Having Youngseo's personal details, fans are also speculating if Min was behind the rumor between Youngseo and RIIZE Seunghan's alleged private video call, which became one of the factors the male idol was suspended from his group and if the female trainee was actually "kicked out" from ILLIT due to this.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Tell us in the comments!

READ MORE: 'HYBE Killer': RIIZE Seunghan Mentioned for 'Dragging' Company's Artists in Controversies

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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz