Min Hee Jin has launched a new entertainment agency, OK Co., Ltd. The new agency was registered on October 16 and covers celebrity management, music production, concert planning.
The timing couldn’t be more strategic. The announcement comes less than two weeks before a judge rules on whether NewJeans (NJZ) can terminate their exclusive contract with ADOR, the label Min once led under HYBE.
It’s clear that MHJ is preparing for a specific outcome. If NewJeans is allowed to break their contract with ADOR, they can join her agency without legal restraint.
The Legal Gray Zone
The biggest question now is whether OK Co. should exist. On paper, HYBE can’t stop her. When HYBE terminated its shareholder agreement with Min, it also dissolved the non-compete clause attached to that agreement. In other words, there’s nothing in writing that prevents her from launching a rival agency.
HYBE could attempt legal action, but they’d be walking into a trap of their own making. The clause they’d need to enforce no longer exists. Even if HYBE wanted to claim breach of good faith, the company already severed the contractual ties that would make such an argument valid.
What Happens If NewJeans Loses
The part that remains uncertain is what happens if the court doesn’t rule in NewJeans’ favor.
Like I’ve said before, the girls have failed to provide evidence that backs up their claims of being mistreated by HYBE executives. Even if they appeal, the end result will be the same.
If that happens, Min’s new company becomes an empty shell… at least for now. Without NewJeans, OK Co. would need to start from scratch. Scouting, signing, and producing new artists without the brand recognition or built-in fanbase that made ADOR successful in the first place.
A Suspicious Sense of Timing
All of this brings the conversation back to one thing: timing. The fact that Min launched OK Co. days before the court’s decision isn’t illegal, but it is loaded with intent. Whether she’s betting on a favorable ruling or signaling to the industry that she’s back, the move feels suspicious.
It’s not the launch of OK Co. itself that raises eyebrows. It’s what it implies. A quiet confidence that things will go her way in court. Maybe that confidence is warranted. Maybe it’s not, but the optics are impossible to ignore.
Min’s story has always been about control. Over art, over her image. Her new agency represents another attempt to reclaim that control. It doesn’t matter if the legal and moral ground beneath her is still shifting. Whether OK Co. is a fresh start or another move in an ongoing power struggle will depend on what happens in court next week.
