As the group NewJeans lost in the first trial of a lawsuit to confirm the validity of its exclusive contract with ADOR, it said it will file an immediate appeal and will not return to ADOR.
On the 30th, Shin & Kim LLC, the legal representative for NewJeans members Min-ji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hye-in, said, The members respect the court's decision, but in the current situation where the relationship of trust with ADOR has completely collapsed, it is impossible to return to ADOR and continue normal entertainment activities.
It added, The members plan to immediately appeal the first-instance ruling, and they hope the appellate court will once again comprehensively review the facts to date and the legal principles regarding the termination of the exclusive contract and deliver a wise judgment.
The Civil Agreement Division 41 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Hoe-il) ruled that the exclusive contract is valid and found for the plaintiff in ADOR's lawsuit against the five NewJeans members to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract, held that morning.
The court did not accept NewJeans' arguments that the dismissal of former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin constituted a breach of the exclusive contract and that the breakdown of trust between the parties constituted grounds for terminating the exclusive contract.
The court found that the circumstances of dismissing the former CEO from ADOR alone do not mean there was a gap in management for NewJeans or that ADOR lacked plans or the ability to carry out its work, and that the exclusive contract does not require that the former CEO must be in charge of ADOR.
It also said that even if the former CEO was removed from the position of representative director, participation in producer duties as an outside director was possible, and it viewed that holding the representative director position was not necessarily required to perform the work.
Regarding NewJeans' claim of a breakdown in the relationship of trust, the court determined that it is difficult to see that mutual trust between the contracting parties has been broken, and that the trust relationship between ADOR and NewJeans has not collapsed to the extent that maintaining the contract is difficult so as to constitute grounds for terminating the exclusive contract.