Min Hee Jin Praises Her Former Boss Lee Soo Man
This article is part of our coverage of HYBE vs. ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.
On Friday, September 27, KST, former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin attended an event at the Hyundai Card Davinci Motel as a speaker. She spoke extensively about her ongoing feud with HYBE.
During her speech, Min Hee Jin talked about her experience working at SM Entertainment (SME). She joined SME in 2002 as a graphic designer and was then promoted to creative director. In 2017, she became a board member but left the company in 2018 due to burnout.
At the beginning of her tenure at SME, Min recalled having a hard time due to the company’s lack of proper systems. She even considered quitting her job, but she stayed back because some good opportunities came her way.
Recalling her previous boss, Lee Soo Man, the founder and former CEO of SME, Min revealed that he had given her complete free reign while she was just a deputy manager.
At that time, producer Lee Soo Man said, ‘Isn’t she quite smart?’ I was a deputy manager at that time but he sent an email to team leaders saying, ‘Since you guys don’t know graphics, just listen to her.’
— Min Hee Jin
Min also shared her perspective about dealing with superiors that she gained while working at SME. “There is no solution when working with superiors. Each boss has a different personality,” she explained. Min said that in order to work with superiors, one has to build their know-how persistently, without resentment.
Amidst the legal battle between Min Hee Jin and HYBE, the former ADOR CEO’s praises for her former boss and company have drawn significant attention. Netizens feel that her experience at SME has turned her into someone who doesn’t bow down easily. Many also compared Lee Soo Man’s attitude to that of HYBE chairperson Bang Si Hyuk, criticizing the latter.
- “He was good at handling people.”
- “Lee Soo Man may be crazy about money, but he was someone who understood the entertainment business. The problem is that he changed as he got older, and the results were dismal because he was crazy about money.”
- “As expected, the guy knew how to sniff out money.”
- “He was a natural-born businessman.”
- “Bang just fills his lack of abilities with his inferiority complex.”
Meanwhile, Min Hee Jin also talked about the cost of her life legal fight with HYBE during this event, and even revealed an exclusive demo song of NewJeans. Read more about it here.
