The group NewJeans lost the first-instance lawsuit in a dispute over exclusive contracts with their agency ADOR. The court ruled that the exclusive contract is still valid and noted that actions by former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin could not constitute grounds for contract termination.
Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 41 (Presiding Judge Jeong Hoe-il, Director General) on the 30th ruled for the plaintiff in ADOR's lawsuit seeking a declaration that the exclusive contract with the five NewJeans members is valid. The court did not accept most of NewJeans' claims.
The court first judged, "It is difficult to see that the dismissal of former CEO Min alone caused a management vacuum," and "there was no clause in the exclusive contract that Min necessarily had to be in charge of management." It added, "Even if former CEO Min stepped down from the CEO position, she could have participated in producer duties as an inside director, and in fact ADOR had proposed a producer delegation contract to former CEO Min."
In particular, the court held that former CEO Min's actions were rather attempts at independence. The court said, "There are indications in KakaoTalk conversations that former CEO Min planned a public relations campaign with the intent of separating NewJeans from HYBE and found investors to acquire ADOR," and "this was a plan for independence, not for protecting NewJeans."
Allegations raised by NewJeans — leaked trainee photos, disparaging remarks by HYBE's PR team, clashes with rival group ILLIT, and dismissive remarks about member Hanni — were all not recognized as grounds for terminating the exclusive contract.
The court concluded, "Forcing entertainers to engage in exclusive activities against their free will may infringe personality rights, but this case is merely a matter of business judgment," and "the trust between the parties cannot be said to have collapsed to the extent that maintaining the exclusive contract is impossible."
This ruling makes it difficult for NewJeans to continue independent activities. Earlier, the court sided with ADOR in provisional relief and decided that if members engage in activities without ADOR's approval, they must pay 1 billion won in damages per occurrence. NewJeans said it intends to appeal.<
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]