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ADOR reportedly revealed how they have spent over 30 billion KRW to help in NewJeans' growth. On April 3, the first hearing of ADOR's lawsuit to confirm the exclusive contract validity with NewJeans was held, where they unveiled financial information during the hearing.
The HYBE LABELS subsidiary reportedly highlighted that despite the unilateral termination of the contract by the group, several revenue settlements continue to take place each month. The settlements include advertisement fees, event compensations, and other payments.
Additionally, they claimed to have paid up to 12 billion KRW (approximately 8.18 million USD) to the group since 2023 alone. The group debuted in July 2022 with the song Attention, and as per the agency, the production of their debut album cost approximately 7 billion KRW (approximately 4.77 million USD).
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They added that the cost was notably higher than an average K-pop album production, approximately 3-4 billion KRW at that time. The agency confirmed that over 30 billion KRW (approximately 8.18 million USD) was invested just in their debut.
ADOR reportedly reveals financial statements to refute allegations made by NewJeans in the first hearing
On Thursday, April 3, the first hearing of the ADOR vs. NJZ contract validity lawsuit was held at the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 41, presided over by Judge Jeong Hoe-il. NewJeans claimed that HYBE LABELS subsidiary “dislikes” the girl group to refute the claims; the agency shared the details of financial investment in them.
As per The Bell, the agency claimed to have spent 5 billion KRW (approximately 3.41 million USD) to acquire 100 percent shares of ADOR during its establishment. When ADOR was separated from SOURCE MUSIC, HYBE also reportedly made more investments, which were 10 billion KRW (approximately 6.82 USD) in 2021 and 6 billion KRW (approximately 4.09 million USD) in 2022.
The considerable investment made by HYBE LABEL to manage and smoothly run its subsidiary label ADOR was used as a piece of evidence to prove they have completed their obligation as the management agency of NJZ. The entertainment agency reportedly emphasized that they made a huge amount of investment solely for the K-pop girl group's growth.
ADOR’s representatives shared their stance on NewJeans' future without former CEO Min Hee-jin. They said
“It is true that former representative Min contributed to what NewJeans is today, but it is nonsense to say that NewJeans cannot exist without former representative Min."
They added,
"Considering that the defendants successfully completed this Hong Kong performance on their own without former representative Min's help, the claim that only former representative Min could have done it is contradictory to the defendants' own words and actions.”
On the other hand, NJZ shared the agency's alleged breach of trust and addressed the changes witnessed in ADOR's management before and after Min Hee-jin's departure.
“Trust between the plaintiff and the defendant has been broken down to an irreparable level. With the ouster of former CEO Min and the arrival of new management under HYBE’s direction, the ADOR that (NewJeans) had a contract with in the past and the Adore now are different corporations with different values,” the NJZ representative stated.
ADOR expressed their wish to reconcile with the group through a settlement. In response, NJZ's representatives stated that the members are not in the right mental state to come to an agreement. The second hearing of the contract validity lawsuit is scheduled to be held on June 5, 2025.
