Members of the group NewJeans were absent from the first hearing of the exclusive contract lawsuit, where the positions of ADOR and the members' side clashed fiercely.
On the 3rd, the 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Jeong Hwa-il) held the first hearing on the validity of the termination of the exclusive contract filed by ADOR against NewJeans.
Only the plaintiff ADOR and the legal representatives of the defendant NewJeans attended the session. Previously, the members of NewJeans attended the hearing regarding the 'provisional measures for preserving agency status and prohibiting the signing of advertising contracts,' where they presented their claims.
ADOR maintains that when NewJeans unilaterally notified the termination of the exclusive contract signed in April 2022, there was insufficient procedural and substantive grounds, so the exclusive contract remains in effect. On the other hand, the NewJeans side argues that the notification of termination is valid due to the breakdown of trust, such as the expulsion of former CEO Min Hee-jin, who successfully operated ADOR.
The ADOR side stated that they 'hope for an agreement or mediation.' However, the NewJeans side expressed a contrary position, saying, 'It seems that the defendant cannot consider such things. For now, that's the case.'
On that day, the ADOR side emphasized that 'NewJeans cannot carry out entertainment activities without Min Hee-jin.' They acknowledged that while Min contributed to the existence of NewJeans, claiming that NewJeans cannot exist without her is unreasonable, adding, 'Since ADOR is the top company in the industry, it makes no sense that we cannot provide another producer. NewJeans recently prepared and successfully completed a performance in Hong Kong without Min's help. This shows that the assertion that only Min Hee-jin is capable is contradictory.'
The NewJeans side stated, 'Please take a close look at whether NewJeans can trust ADOR, where all executives have been replaced. It is not just the absence of representative Min Hee-jin; there has also been a lack of communication regarding the alternatives put in place, which we consider important.' They argued, 'The individual reasons for termination mentioned by ADOR are also significant. Even if each reason alone does not constitute an independent grounds for termination, when they are all combined, the conclusion is that the trust between the two sides has broken down to an irreparable extent.'
The members of NewJeans were impeded from their independent activities due to the Seoul District Court's acceptance of a provisional injunction. On the 21st, the Civil Agreements Division 50 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Kim Sang-hoon) accepted the injunction application and made a ruling.
According to the ruling document, the court considered instances including the vacancy in producing due to the dismissal of ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin; comments made by HYBE CEO Park Ji-won that 'Kim Min-ji and others will receive long vacations'; disputes between director Shin Woo-seok of Dolphin Kidnapping Group and ADOR; a statement in the May 10, 2023 music industry report from HYBE saying 'It's possible to abandon the New and start over'; damages to the uniqueness of NewJeans by ILLIT, which belongs to Belift Lab; an incident where Hanni heard 'Ignore' remarks from a manager belonging to Belift Lab; leakage of photos and videos from the trainee days of Kim Min-ji and others; comments made by a PR official from HYBE belittling NewJeans' achievements; and the devaluation of NewJeans' achievements due to HYBE's record-pushing practices. The court found that the claims and materials submitted so far from Kim Min-ji and others do not sufficiently prove that ADOR violated important obligations of the exclusive contract.
In response, the members of NewJeans filed an objection to the court's decision for provisional measures and declared a suspension of activities during their performance held in Hong Kong on the 23rd of last month.
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