Group NewJeans members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and HAEIN lost the first-instance lawsuit seeking confirmation of the validity of their exclusive contracts and immediately filed an appeal.
The legal representative for the NewJeans members, the law firm Sejong, said on the 30th, "Today the Seoul Central District Court delivered a first-instance judgment holding that the exclusive contracts are valid in the lawsuit filed by ADOR against the members seeking confirmation of the validity of the exclusive contracts."
The members said they "respect the court's judgment, but maintain their previous position that, given the current situation in which the trust relationship with ADOR has been completely broken, it is impossible to return to ADOR and continue normal entertainment activities."
They added, "The members will immediately appeal the first-instance judgment, and they hope the appellate court will once again comprehensively review the facts and legal principles regarding the termination of the exclusive contracts and deliver a wise judgment."
Earlier that day, Civil Division 41 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Hoe-il) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit in which ADOR sought confirmation of the validity of the exclusive contracts against the NewJeans members.
The court said, "Dismissing Min Hee-jin from her position at ADOR did not create a management vacuum for NewJeans, and it is difficult to view ADOR as lacking a plan or capability to perform its duties," finding that this could not be considered grounds for terminating the exclusive contracts.
The court also said it was "difficult to find that mutual trust between the contracting parties had been broken" regarding the members' claim that the trust relationship had collapsed.
The following is the full statement from the NewJeans members' side.
Hello, we are the law firm Sejong, legal representatives of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and HAEIN (hereafter "the members").
Today the Seoul Central District Court delivered a first-instance judgment holding that the exclusive contracts are valid in the lawsuit filed by ADOR against the members seeking confirmation of the validity of the exclusive contracts.
The members respect the court's judgment, but they maintain their position that, given the current situation in which the trust relationship with ADOR has been completely broken, it is impossible to return to ADOR and continue normal entertainment activities.
The members will immediately appeal the first-instance judgment, and they hope the appellate court will once again comprehensively review the facts and legal principles regarding the termination of the exclusive contracts and deliver a wise judgment.
Finally, we sincerely thank the fans who have waited and supported us for a long time.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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