During a dispute over an exclusive contract, ADOR and NewJeans (new activity name NJZ) engaged in a legal battle.

On the 7th, the Civil Division 50 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Sang-hoon) held a hearing on ADOR's request for a preliminary injunction against NewJeans members regarding the preservation of agency status and the conclusion of advertising contracts.

With NewJeans (NJZ) members and ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young present in court, ADOR argued, "There are no grounds for the termination of the exclusive contract." ADOR stated, "Termination of the exclusive contract can only occur in cases of significant obligations being violated, such as failure to provide opportunities for entertainment activities or unresolved revenue. (ADOR) has fulfilled all essential and core duties of the exclusive contract. The reasons cited by NewJeans are unfounded and unrelated to the main contents of the contract."

They further added, "NewJeans’ reasons for contract termination include claims such as 'HYBE dislikes NewJeans' and 'discriminates against them,' but it does not make sense for a profit-seeking private enterprise to bury its only and primary source of revenue."

In particular, ADOR highlighted the dedication of its employees and HYBE's investment of 21 billion won. ADOR claimed, "The success of NewJeans cannot be attributed solely to the members' talents and efforts. Guaranteeing the term of an exclusive contract is the foundation of the K-pop industry, and undermining this has a detrimental effect on the healthy structure of the industry."

They also mentioned NewJeans (NJZ)'s independent activities, saying, "They are accumulating acts of violating the exclusive contract. Are they not trying to create a situation where it is too far to continue with ADOR?"

After the hearing, ADOR rebutted claims that HYBE obstructed NewJeans (NJZ) members from wearing mourning ribbons during the Jeju Air disaster. ADOR stated, "There is no reason for the company to prevent artists from wearing mourning ribbons. At that time, HYBE was conducting a comprehensive review of whether to wear mourning ribbons for not only NewJeans but also all label artists. Considering the broadcasting conditions in Korea and Japan, it was communicated to each label that prior coordination with broadcasters was necessary. The broadcasting team coordinated the subtitles and MC comments regarding the reasons for wearing mourning ribbons in advance. During this process, all artists expressed their willingness to wear the ribbons, and efforts were made to provide the same ribbons to NewJeans. However, they expressed their intention to wear the ribbons they had prepared, and this was respected, leading to the final decision."

NewJeans (NJZ) stated, "The essence of this case is that HYBE and ADOR attempted to discriminate against, reject, and replace NewJeans (NJZ) with another group for disposal." They continued, "Yet they are trying to bind NewJeans (NJZ) like slaves and drive them into obscurity without reflection or apology," mentioning the Ailyt plagiarism controversy, the leak of trainee-era videos, attacks on former CEO Min Hee-jin, and Hanni’s 'ignore it' incident.

NewJeans (NJZ) claimed, "We are frustrated by the attitude that even our unique acts as entertainers cannot be done without the creditor's permission. The essence of this is concerning illegal acts of a specific agency, unrelated to the K-pop industry." The NewJeans members present in court appealed, "Rather than supporting and protecting us, ADOR has continued to harass us from behind the scenes, leading us to conclude that it is no longer possible to continue our activities and fulfill our contract. We hope you can understand these feelings."

Meanwhile, NewJeans (NJZ) declared the termination of their exclusive contract with ADOR last November due to non-compliance, changing their team name to NJZ and continuing their activities. ADOR is currently asserting that the contract with NewJeans remains valid and has also filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract.

[OSEN = Reporter Jang Woo-young]