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On Thursday, April 3, 2025, Daily Sports reported that the 41st Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court called NewJeans and ADOR's ongoing lawsuit a "unique" case.
The court held its first hearing on ADOR's lawsuit seeking legal approval for the validity of the girl group's one-sided contract termination. On November 28, 2024, NewJeans terminated their contract with ADOR, expressing their displeasure with Min Hee-jin's removal as the label's CEO.
ADOR contested this move, stating that a contract can only be dissolved if both parties mutually agree. The girl group argued in court that their trust was broken as the label refused to reinstate Min Hee-jin.
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In response, the court stated that the concept of "trust" is "abstract" and that they would need time to assess the case.
"The concept of ‘broken trust’ is abstract. We've handled many cases where idols who never even got paid or gained recognition sought to terminate their contracts. Compared to those, this case is quite unique."
ADOR challenges NewJeans' (NJZ) "broken trust" argument amidst legal battle
On April 3, 2025, ADOR argued that NewJeans' (NJZ) reasons for contract termination are groundless. The label highlighted that the group has been claiming that Min Hee-jin was "ousted" from the label and HYBE on unfair grounds, which is untrue.
ADOR stated:
"They keep saying that they ousted Min Hee-jin, but Min Hee-jin left of her own accord. (ADOR) offered her a reappointment as a director and a producing role, but if they don’t make her the CEO, she can’t do it. She made all sorts of excuses to stall for time before leaving, and right after that, the defendants unilaterally declared the termination of her contract."
For the unversed, Min Hee-jin was fired as the CEO of ADOR by the label's independent board of directors on August 27, 2024. HYBE's CHRO Kim Joo-young was appointed as the new CEO the same day.
Following this, NJZ held a surprise YouTube livestream on September 11 and expressed their disapproval of the decision. They claimed workplace harassment and mistreatment, and on October 15, NewJeans' Hanni appeared at the National Assembly Audit session to testify against workplace harassment.
In November 2024, Yonhap News reported that the Ministry of Employment and Labor dismissed Hanni's claims after a thorough investigation and cleared ADOR and HYBE of such charges.
On November 13, 2024, the group sent a letter of ultimatum to ADOR and warned them that if Min Hee-jin wasn't reinstated as the CEO by November 28, then they would terminate their contract. The label refused to oblige, and NewJeans terminated their contract on November 28, 2024.
On December 3, 2024, ADOR filed a lawsuit to see if the unilateral contract termination will be lawfully approved by the court. In January 2025, the label filed an injunction to stop the group from engaging in activities outside ADOR's permission.
In another move of rebellion, NewJeans changed their group name to NJZ and announced it on February 7, 2025.
On March 7, the injunction's first court hearing was held, and the judge ordered the group to resubmit their reasons for termination. On March 21, the court ruled in favor of ADOR and restricted NJZ from engaging in independent activities till the lawsuit's final verdict is out.
Meanwhile, on April 3, during the lawsuit's first court hearing, NewJeans claimed that they cannot "exist without Min Hee-jin." ADOR challenged this statement and called it contradictory.
The label stated that the group contacting ComplexCon by itself and performing their without the involvement of Min Hee-jin proved that NewJeans can "exist" without Min Hee-jin.
ADOR said:
"Considering that (New Jeans) 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')."
The second hearing is on June 7, 2025. Meanwhile, NewJeans filed an objection to the injunction verdict. The hearing will be on April 9 at 2 PM.
