BTS member V (Kim Taehyung) has shared his reaction after private KakaoTalk messages with former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin were submitted as evidence in a recent court case.
On February 20, V posted on social media, “These are private, everyday conversations shared with a friend. I had no intention of taking sides. I am very surprised that these messages were submitted as evidence without my consent.”
The messages were used during a lawsuit where the court ruled on March 12 that HYBE must pay Min Hee Jin 25.5 billion KRW for exercising put options.
Former Vice President Shin Mo and former Director Kim Mo, who also exercised put options, were ordered to receive 1.7 billion KRW and 1.4 billion KRW, respectively.
During the same case, the court dismissed HYBE’s request to confirm the termination of the shareholder agreement. It was in this process that the first trial court accepted the KakaoTalk messages between V and Min Hee Jin as evidence.
According to reports, V’s message to Min Hee Jin read roughly, “(There’s always talk about plagiarism, it never stops) Yeah, that’s true. I also looked and thought, ‘Ah, this is similar.’”
Because the court accepted this as evidence, Min Hee Jin’s claims regarding alleged copying of NewJeans by ADOR were considered a valid opinion.
Following the ruling, HYBE filed an appeal on February 19 at the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 31, challenging the decision on Min Hee Jin’s stock purchase claim.
Separately, in disputes over exclusive contracts with NewJeans members, the court previously ruled against the group.
In October last year, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 41 sided with ADOR in confirming the validity of the exclusive contracts.
V’s statement highlights his surprise over the legal use of private messages and clarifies that he had no intention of influencing the case.
Source: [1]
