On January 13, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 62 delivered its verdict in ADOR’s civil lawsuit seeking approximately ₩1.1 billion in damages from Dolphiners Films. The dispute stemmed from the unauthorized release of a director’s cut of NewJeans’ “ETA” music video in August 2024.
Dolphiners Films, which had served as an external video production partner for ADOR, uploaded the director’s cut of the “ETA” music video to its own YouTube channel without obtaining written approval from ADOR. As the copyright holder of NewJeans-related video content, ADOR demanded the video’s removal, citing the lack of prior consent as required under the contract.
In response, director Shin Woo Seok of Dolphiners Films unexpectedly deleted all NewJeans-related videos from another unofficial fan channel he operated, known as the “Ban Heesoo channel.” This sudden move sparked backlash from fans, many of whom criticized ADOR after losing access to the content.
Shin Woo Seok’s side argued that there had been a verbal agreement during the tenure of former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, claiming the upload of the director’s cut had been approved. ADOR firmly denied this, stating that the video was released without authorization and that no such verbal agreement existed.
The conflict escalated further in November 2024, when Shin Woo Seok filed a criminal complaint, alleging that ADOR’s public statement referring to the upload as “unauthorized” had damaged his reputation. In turn, ADOR filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages for breach of contract.
During the trial, both parties clashed over whether prior consent had been given, and whether the upload constituted a violation of contractual obligations as well as copyright and portrait rights. The case drew particular attention when Min Hee Jin appeared in court as a witness for Dolphiners Films, marking one of the rare occasions she testified outside of her own stock-related litigation. She maintained that a verbal agreement with Shin Woo Seok had existed, asserting that the upload of the “ETA” director’s cut had been mutually agreed upon.
However, the court did not accept this argument.
In its ruling, the court ordered Dolphiners Films to pay ADOR ₩1 billion, plus interest calculated at an annual rate of 12% from December 14, 2024, until full payment is made. The court dismissed the remaining claims, including ADOR’s separate ₩100 million defamation claim against Shin Woo Seok personally, and outlined the allocation of litigation costs accordingly.
With the court recognizing the breach of contract and awarding the bulk of the claimed damages, the verdict is widely seen as a near-total win for ADOR. Notably, despite testimony referencing “verbal agreements” and industry “customs,” the court emphasized the primacy of written contracts effectively rejecting Min Hee Jin’s claims and reinforcing the legal weight of formal consent procedures.
The ruling marks a significant legal milestone in the ongoing disputes surrounding ADOR and NewJeans-related content, underscoring the importance of contractual compliance in the K-pop industry’s production ecosystem.
