[Sports Chosun reporter Baek Ji-eun] The independent activities of the group NewJeans have been completely blocked.
On the 17th, Seoul High Court’s Civil Division 25-2 (Chief Judges Hwang Byung-ha, Jeong Jong-gwan, Lee Kyun-yong) dismissed the NewJeans members’ appeal against the injunction to prohibit agency status reservation and ad contract signing.
Last November, NewJeans began independent activities claiming their exclusive contract was terminated due to ADOR’s breach. They changed their team name to NJZ, engaged in photoshoots, and participated in Hong Kong’s Complex Con.
In response, ADOR filed for an injunction to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract and prohibit the signing of advertising contracts. The court accepted ADOR’s injunction request. Although NewJeans members immediately objected, the court dismissed it. They appealed again but were dismissed once more.
This ruling by the court is expected to impact ongoing legal disputes involving NewJeans’ main contract lawsuit and legal issues between former ADOR representative Min Hee-jin and HYBE.
The court stated, “Former representative Min was dissatisfied with the shareholder agreement starting around 2023 and sought revisions while trying to break away from HYBE’s control with NewJeans or find a way to control ADOR independently. She is judged to be in a position that destroys the foundation of achievements of ADOR’s integrated structure.”
Regarding HYBE’s claim of a breach of trust following Min’s ousting, the court mentioned, “Even though ADOR tried to recruit producers for NewJeans after Min refused ADOR’s producing proposal, the members’ insistence on working only with Min does not mean that the trust relationship is broken.”
The court dismissed allegations that I-Lit plagiarized NewJeans and that a Belif Lab manager told Hani to “ignore her.”
The court specifically pointed out NewJeans’ unauthorized participation in Hong Kong’s Complex Con without an agreement with ADOR.
“If the members engage in independent activities aside from their exclusive contract, they monopolize all achievements while ADOR loses all its investments. Allowing their self-management can mislead the public into thinking that the exclusive contract is completely void, seriously damaging the NewJeans brand image,” the court noted.
Regarding the claim that the decision causes a long hiatus for the members, the court responded, “It’s damage caused by the members’ refusal to comply with the proper execution of the exclusive contract, and the damage actually impacts the creditor.”
Ultimately, by ruling this as “self-contradictory” NewJeans is prohibited from engaging in any entertainment activities without ADOR’s approval, including songwriting, performing, acting, appearing on broadcasts, and signing or participating in commercial activities based on their status as public culture artists.
Attention is now focused on what decision NewJeans will make.
One plausible option is to wait for the outcome of the main lawsuit. However, it’s uncertain how long this may take to conclude. Legal experts believe that unless there is new evidence to overturn the decision, the recent ruling could adversely affect the main lawsuit.
Although unlikely, the group could also return to ADOR. While members previously stated they have “crossed a point of no return,” ADOR mentioned they are open to negotiations. However, whether ADOR will fully support NewJeans’ activities like before remains uncertain.
Another option is to pay the penalty to terminate the exclusive contract. The penalty is calculated based on the remaining months of the contract multiplied by the average monthly revenue from the last two years before the termination. If calculated from the time NewJeans claimed the contract was terminated last November, the penalty is estimated to be between 400 and 600 billion won. If calculated from the time the full case concludes, the penalty might reduce to a few hundred billion won.
Reporter Baek Ji-eun [email protected]