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On April 3, 2025, Daily Sports (Ilgan Sports) reported that NewJeans (NJZ) refused to settle with ADOR during the first court hearing of the contract validation lawsuit at the Seoul Central District Court's 41st Civil Agreement Division.
During the proceedings, ADOR's legal team proposed a settlement to resolve the dispute amicably. However, NJZ's representatives categorically rejected the offer, stating that a settlement was "not an option at the moment."
"It is not that situation at the moment. Considering the mental state of the members, it is so at the moment." (Translated from Papago).
NJZ's legal counsel reiterated the allegations against ADOR, emphasizing the group's experiences of discrimination and harassment. They argued that these conditions rendered the working environment intolerable, justifying the contract's termination.
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ADOR's attorneys refuted these allegations, maintaining that the agency had fulfilled all contractual obligations and that the group's actions constituted a breach of contract.
ADOR's questions NewJeans' (NJZ) contradictory statements in court amid legal dispute
ADOR filed the lawsuit on December 3, 2024, after the girl group declared contract termination on November 28. The lawsuit seeks legal verification of whether a one-sided termination of a contract between an artist and a label could be accepted.
Following this, the group started engaging in independent activities without waiting for the court's verdict.
Hence, ADOR filed for an injunction in January 2025 to restrict the group from contacting advertisers on their own and without ADOR's consent.
Regardless, NewJeans announced its new group name "NJZ" on February 7, 2025. On March 7, both parties had their first court hearing on the injunction.
The label won the injunction on March 21, but NewJeans refused to oblige. They filed an objection to the court's verdict, and its hearing is scheduled for April 9. Meanwhile, the lawsuit hearing on April 3 brought forward several new arguments presented by both parties.
NJZ claimed a breach of trust against the label after Min Hee-jin was fired as ADOR's CEO. The group claimed that they cannot "exist" without Min Hee-jin. In response, ADOR argued that the group independently contacted ComplexCon Hong Kong and performed there on March 23, 2025, without the involvement of Min Hee-jin.
ADOR highlighted that the group's action did not match with their statements, as their ComplexCon performance showed that they can work without Min Hee-jin.
"Considering that (NewJeans) successfully completed the Hong Kong concert independently without Min Hee-jin's help, it means that it was possible without Min Hee-jin. This is an action that contradicts the defendants' own words and actions (statements such as 'they cannot carry out normal activities without former representative Min')."
ADOR contested NewJeans' other statements, such as the label firing Min Hee-jin on unfair grounds.
The label stated that Min Hee-jin was removed from her position in August 2024 due to a breach of privacy and her legal dispute with HYBE, where she wanted to make NewJeans independent of its label.
ADOR stressed that they re-hired Min Hee-jin on October 17, 2024, as an internal director, but both NewJeans and Min Hee-jin demanded that she be made the CEO, or else they would not cooperate.
Meanwhile, NewJeans claimed that they gave ADOR 14 days to reinstate Min Hee-jin as the label's CEO by November 28, 2024. The label refused to comply, which was a breach of trust, and hence, the group terminated the contract.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court said that this is a "unique" case as the term "trust" can be translated in several ways due to its abstract nature. The court said:
"Breakdown of trust is an abstract concept. In fact, we have handled many cases where idols who signed management contracts did not receive a single settlement and did not become popular and asked for the settlement to be concluded. Compared to those cases, (this case) is a very unique case."
The second hearing of this lawsuit will be held on June 4, 2025, at the 41st Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court.
