On the 5th, ADOR, a music agency under HYBE, and the girl group NewJeans continued their legal battle in court. The NewJeans side rejected the possibility of an agreement, stating that their trust relationship with ADOR has broken down, while ADOR also expressed that they would wait for the court's conclusion.
The Civil Division 41 of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Jung Hoe-il) held the second argument of the validity confirmation lawsuit filed by ADOR against the five members of NewJeans on the morning of the same day. The NewJeans members did not appear in court that day.
The court repeatedly asked both parties about their willingness to reach a settlement, but the NewJeans representative noted, "The trust relationship has already broken down, and we have crossed the river we cannot return from. I will have to consult with my clients, but it will not be easy." ADOR responded that "whether it is the main case or an injunction, we believe that once the court makes a decision, a settlement can be reached easily afterwards," and conveyed their position of wanting to wait for the court's judgment.
The ADOR side submitted evidence and statements to the court, intending to show that they provided management to ensure NewJeans' activities were not hindered even after changing representatives. In response, the NewJeans side argued, "The evidence provided by ADOR is quite insufficient, and management obligations cannot just be fulfilled by putting together a list of replaceable producers. Anyone can do that. We did not enter into an exclusive contract to receive such management. "
Meanwhile, the ADOR side requested the court to secure documents related to the damage compensation lawsuit currently ongoing between the former representative Min and the label Source Music under HYBE at the Seoul Western District Court. Source Music, the agency of the girl group Le Sserafim, filed a lawsuit asserting that claims made by former representative Min during his conflict with HYBE were false.
In response, the NewJeans side stated, "We submitted an opinion requesting that the evidence being claimed as illegally obtained not be accepted in the Western District Court," adding, "The possibility of illegally obtained evidence is high, so that part should be organized first."
On the other hand, the ADOR side argued, "The computer obviously belongs to the company, and the files were agreed upon by all providers, so they cannot be considered illegally obtained evidence."
The court decided to hold an additional argument on the 24th of next month to hear both sides' opinions. NewJeans claimed that their contract was terminated due to a breach of contract by ADOR in November of last year as they began independent activities. In response, ADOR filed a lawsuit for the confirmation of the validity of the contract, stating that the contract with NewJeans is still valid, and they also applied for an injunction to prevent the members from engaging in independent activities.
In the injunction case, the court ruled last March that "it has not been proven that ADOR violated important obligations under the exclusive contract, leading to a reason for contract termination, or that the trust relationship between the parties, which is the foundation of the contract, has broken down irreparably," ruling in favor of ADOR.
The NewJeans members have filed an objection against the injunction application, but when it was not accepted, they immediately appealed and are awaiting the high court's ruling.
Meanwhile, on the 29th of last month, the court accepted ADOR's request for indirect enforcement against NewJeans, ruling that if NewJeans engaged in independent activities without ADOR's prior approval, each member would be required to pay 1 billion won to ADOR for each violation.