The group NewJeans lost the first trial in a lawsuit over their exclusive contract with their agency ADOR.
On October 30 KST, the 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Hoe-il) ruled on the 30th that NewJeans must maintain its exclusive contract with ADOR. The ruling came at the same time as the court ruling in ADOR’s lawsuit seeking to confirm the validity of its exclusive contract with New Jeans. This news comes approximately 11 months after New Jeans held a press conference on November 28th of last year, announcing its intention to terminate its exclusive contract with Adore.
The court ruled, “ADOR’s dismissal of former CEO Min Hee-jin alone is not grounds to terminate its exclusive contract with NewJeans.” It noted that the absence of former CEO Min did not create a vacuum in NewJeans’ album planning or entertainment activities.
The court did not accept NewJeans’ argument that ADOR’s dismissal of former CEO Min was a serious breach of his obligations under the exclusive contract.
The court also explained that the conflict between former CEO Min and parent company Hybe was initially sparked by former CEO Min. The court concluded that former CEO Min attempted to create negative public opinion about Hybe in order to force ADOR and NewJeans out of the company. This, the court interpreted, led Hybe to conduct an audit of former CEO Min last year and ultimately dismiss her.
