[Sports Chosun Reporter Baek Ji-eun] The first lawsuit in the exclusive contract dispute between the group NewJeans and ADOR has commenced.
On the 3rd, the first trial for the lawsuit regarding the validity of the exclusive contract filed by ADOR against the five members of NewJeans will be held at the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Settlement Division 41 (Chief Judge Jeong Hoe-il).
Last month on the 21st, the court fully accepted ADOR’s provisional injunction request to preserve their status as the members’ agency and to prohibit entertainment activities.
NewJeans cited 11 grounds for terminating the exclusive contract, including concerns about a production hiatus following the dismissal of ADOR’s former CEO Min Hee-jin, statements reportedly made by former HYBE CEO Park Ji-won about giving NewJeans an extended break, disputes between ADOR and director Shin Woo-seok of Dolphin Kidnapping Team, a May 10, 2023 HYBE music report suggesting to abandon NewJeans’ current setup, damage to NewJeans’ identity by I-LIT from Belift Lab, a Belift Lab manager allegedly telling Hanni to “ignore it,” leaks of NewJeans members’ training photos and videos, defamatory remarks by a HYBE manager about NewJeans’ achievements, and undervaluation of NewJeans’ performance due to HYBE’s practices, as well as a vengeful audit against former CEO Min by HYBE and ADOR contributing to negative public opinion about NewJeans. They also mentioned a statement from HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang expressing intent to damage NewJeans’ brand value and potentially dismiss both Min Hee-jin and NewJeans. However, the court did not recognize any of these points.
In response, NewJeans expressed their frustration to international media outlets like the US Time and BBC Korea, stating, “This is the reality of Korea. It seems Korea wants to turn us into revolutionaries,” and “The acceptance of the provisional injunction was shocking.” Nevertheless, public opinion remained cold, leading NewJeans to take the drastic step of suspending activities.
As NewJeans and ADOR clash once more in the main lawsuit, currently, ADOR holds a favorable position. NewJeans plans to submit new evidence, appeal the provisional injunction decision, and prepare for the main lawsuit. Attention is focused on whether NewJeans members will personally voice their concerns in court as they did in the provisional injunction case and whether the provisional decision will be upheld.
Reporter Baek Ji-eun [email protected]