NewJeans Loses Initial Lawsuit Against ADOR Amidst Contract Dispute

Girl group NewJeans has lost the first round of their lawsuit against their agency ADOR concerning their exclusive contracts.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of ADOR in the lawsuit filed by the five NewJeans members seeking confirmation of their exclusive contracts. The court determined that the exclusive contracts remain valid and that the actions of former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin did not constitute grounds for termination.

The court stated that it was difficult to consider a management vacuum solely due to Min Hee-jin's dismissal, and that the exclusive contract did not stipulate that she had to be exclusively in charge of management. It was also pointed out that even after stepping down as CEO, she could have participated in producer duties as an in-house director, and ADOR had indeed proposed a producer delegation contract to her.

Crucially, the court found that Min Hee-jin's actions were aimed at achieving independence for NewJeans. Evidence from KakaoTalk conversations indicated that she planned public relations campaigns with the intention of separating NewJeans from HYBE and sought investors to acquire ADOR, suggesting these were plans for independence rather than protection of the group.

The reasons cited by NewJeans for contract termination, including the leaking of trainee photos, derogatory remarks by HYBE's PR team, clashes with rival group ILLIT, and dismissive comments towards member Hanni, were all deemed insufficient to invalidate the contract.

The court concluded that while forcing exclusive activities against an artist's free will could infringe upon personality rights, this case was merely a matter of business judgment. The relationship of trust between the parties was not so severely damaged as to make maintaining the exclusive contract impossible.

This ruling is expected to make it difficult for NewJeans to pursue independent activities. Previously, the court had sided with ADOR in a provisional disposition, imposing a 1 billion KRW penalty per instance if the members acted without ADOR's approval. NewJeans has expressed their intention to appeal the decision.

Netizens are reacting with comments such as, 'So the contract was valid after all,' 'Was Min Hee-jin's greed too much?', and 'Only the NewJeans members are unfortunate.' There are also messages of support hoping for a reversal in the appellate court.