NewJeans has entered a phase of returning to ADOR, raising growing curiosity about why only Danielle was notified of contract termination. With multiple members shifting to a position of respecting the court's ruling, Danielle's departure from the team led to the collapse of a full-group return.
Earlier, NewJeans held an emergency press conference on Nov. 28 last year to announce the termination of their exclusive contracts and signaled plans for independent activities, but the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in ADOR's lawsuit seeking confirmation that the exclusive contracts were valid. It was confirmed that activities without ADOR's approval were not permitted, and if violated, an indirect enforcement of 1 billion won per instance could be imposed.
Immediately after the ruling the members expressed an intention to appeal, but within ten days Haerin and Hye-in decided to return, and later Min-ji, Hanni and Danielle also expressed their intention to return through legal representatives.
However, the three members' declarations of intention to return were not matters agreed upon in advance with ADOR. ADOR said it was coordinating individual interview schedules with the members and would do its best to ensure smooth discussions, and in fact Hanni visited Korea with her family and, after lengthy talks, decided to return.
ADOR said of the process, "Hanni visited Korea with her family and had in-depth, lengthy discussions with ADOR. In that process she reviewed past events and took time to look at the issues objectively. After sincere talks, Hanni decided to respect the court's ruling and to be with ADOR," adding that discussions with Min-ji are also under way.
But Danielle's situation was different. ADOR said on the 29th that it had notified Danielle of the termination of her exclusive contract and announced that on the same day it would file a suit seeking liquidated damages and compensation for damages.
On the reasons for the termination, ADOR said, "Because further legal procedures are expected to proceed, it is difficult to speak in detail, but actions occurred that conflicted with the exclusive contract, such as entering into contracts that conflict with the contract in question, engaging in independent entertainment activities, or damaging the honor or credit of the company or NewJeans, and although we requested correction, the required corrections were not made within the deadline, so we notified termination."
In other words, in Danielle's case actions that could constitute contract violations occurred, and the decisive point was that although the company demanded correction, no willingness to improve was confirmed.
Regarding the amount of damages, ADOR added, "It is difficult to disclose the specific amount of damages, but the liquidated damages will follow the formula already set out in the exclusive contract."
Furthermore, ADOR said it intends to clarify responsibility for this dispute more clearly. The agency emphasized, "In Danielle's case, we judged that it would be difficult for her to continue as a NewJeans member and an artist under ADOR, so today we notified the termination of the exclusive contract. Also, we plan to hold Danielle's family member, who bears significant responsibility for causing this dispute and for NewJeans' departure and delayed return, and former CEO Min Hee-jin legally accountable," stressing that the company sees not only Danielle's personal decisions but also intervention by outside figures and the provision of distorted information as factors that exacerbated the situation.
By contrast, the other members accepted the court's ruling and returned to the negotiating table with ADOR with a position of fulfilling their exclusive contracts.
ADOR said, "During discussions we learned that the members had long been exposed to distorted and biased information, developed many misunderstandings about the company and reached the point of dispute. The company and the artists agreed that, even if it takes some time to regain the love of fans and the public, it is necessary to completely dispel misunderstandings based on accurate facts. We also agreed to have an opportunity later to address the various controversies that arose during the dispute and are discussing the timing and method."
Ultimately, this incident revealed how difficult internal agreement can be even after a court ruling. With the full-group return canceled, NewJeans' future activities are increasingly likely to follow different trajectories for each member, and the legal battles surrounding Danielle are expected to continue for the time being.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]