Minji, Hanni, Daniel, Haerin, and HAEIN's escape from ADOR was not realized. The court approved all of the preliminary injunction requests submitted by ADOR to prohibit NewJeans' independent activities, thereby banning the members' independent activities.

On the 21st, the 50th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Kim Sang-hoon) made a decision in favor of ADOR's preliminary injunction request concerning the five NewJeans members (Minji, Hanni, Daniel, Haerin, HAEIN), seeking the 'protection of agency status and prohibition of advertising contracts.

Earlier, in January, ADOR submitted a preliminary injunction request to prohibit the NewJeans members from independently signing advertising contracts. Subsequently, ADOR expanded the request to seek a ban on not only signing advertising contracts but also on NewJeans' music activities, including songwriting, composing, and singing, as well as overall activities in the entertainment world.

The NewJeans members appeared in court on the 7th for the preliminary injunction hearing. That day marked a fierce two-hour debate between the two sides over whether there were grounds for the termination of the exclusive contract. ADOR argued that there were no grounds for termination of the exclusive contract as claimed by the NewJeans members, while the NewJeans members countered that ADOR had not fulfilled its contractual obligations.

In this regard, the court ruled in favor of ADOR. It determined that there were no grounds for the termination of the exclusive contract between ADOR and NewJeans and approved ADOR's request to prohibit NewJeans' independent activities.

In particular, the court did not recognize any of the 11 grounds for termination of the exclusive contract claimed by NewJeans. The court stated, "The claims and materials submitted by the debtor (the five NewJeans members) alone do not sufficiently demonstrate that the creditor (ADOR) violated significant obligations under the exclusive contract or that a trust relationship between the parties has collapsed irreparably due to that matter."

With the granting of the preliminary injunction, ADOR and NewJeans experienced contrasting emotions. ADOR immediately released a statement, expressing gratitude for the wise judgment of the injunction court. "Since ADOR has legally confirmed its position as NewJeans' agency, we will be responsible for supporting the artist in the future. We plan to provide ample support on-site for the upcoming ComplexCon performance under the name of NewJeans, who belong to ADOR," it stated.

Additionally, ADOR said, "We hope to meet the artist soon and have an honest time together. We sincerely ask for warm support and encouragement for NewJeans, who will grow again together with ADOR."

However, NewJeans rejected this offer. Through social media, the members stated, "We, NJZ, respect the court's decision. However, that decision does not sufficiently take into account the complete breakdown of trust between the members and ADOR." They added, "We plan to dispute additional issues regarding the injunction decision through an appeals process and will enhance our evidence during that process."

Furthermore, they added, "There is also an ongoing lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract between ADOR and the members, and we will clarify once again that the contract was legally terminated at the scheduled hearing on April 3."

As the NewJeans members expressed their intention to focus on the main lawsuit without accepting the results of the preliminary injunction, public opinion is also shifting significantly. Some internet users who initially supported NewJeans' independent activities are now commenting that since the court did not recognize the 11 grounds for termination claimed by NewJeans, it might be better to align themselves with ADOR.

Additionally, some have expressed concerns about NewJeans' future activities, stating that since the members' 11 claims were not recognized in the injunction, it might be difficult to win the main lawsuit.

Meanwhile, NewJeans has confirmed that they will participate as scheduled in the Complex Concert in Hong Kong on the 23rd. The members stated, "We decided to participate to prevent any inconvenience to the fans and many stakeholders who are looking forward to the concert," and ADOR announced, "We plan to fully support the performance on-site to proceed under the name of NewJeans, who belong to ADOR."

[Photo] OSEN DB

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