Evidence has emerged that Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR, was deeply involved in the announcement of the contract termination for NewJeans (new activity name NJZ).
This supports the allegation of "tampering" which refers to third parties (former CEO Min) contacting an artist (NewJeans) whose contract with the agency (ADOR) has not yet expired without the agency's consent.
ADOR and NewJeans are in a legal dispute over the termination of their exclusive contract, and tampering is cited as one of the major issues shaking the exclusive contract.
Documents from the oral argument regarding the "prevention of agency status and prohibition of contract signing" filed by ADOR against NewJeans members on the 11th reveal that former CEO Min and her legal representative, the law firm Sejong, participated in the process when NewJeans notified ADOR of the contract termination on Nov. 29, 2024.
The properties of the termination notice written as a PDF file show that the author was Sejong, who was at that time the legal representative of former CEO Min. The company name in English, S&K, is also confirmed. This appears to be due to the use of a corporate account to create the document.
Right before sending the termination notice on Nov. 28, NewJeans held a press conference and abruptly announced the termination of the contract, stating that they had not yet appointed a law firm at that time.
NewJeans officially announced that they had appointed Sejong in January of this year. NewJeans stated in a position paper that after ADOR filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract, they determined it was necessary to have a law firm capable of responding to the request for "prevention of agency status and prohibition of contract signing" as ADOR proceeded with that request. It was stated that to respond quickly to the request, it was deemed appropriate to reach out to those already familiar with the mistakes and issues of HYBE and ADOR.
ADOR believes that tampering was at play in the chain of events from NewJeans' corrective measures request on Nov. 14, 2024, to former CEO Min's resignation on Nov. 20, and the declaration of contract termination on Nov. 28. NewJeans declared the termination of the exclusive contract during a press conference on Nov. 28, before the midnight deadline for responding to the corrective measures.
In addition, ADOR presented evidence, including KakaoTalk conversations and emails captured from the former CEO Min's mobile phone, as well as the fact that claims made in a prior case between Min and ADOR in May 2024 were quoted verbatim. They also pointed out that the term "early this year" was not corrected to "early last year."
Termination or cancellation of an exclusive contract is only applicable in cases of significant violations of contractual obligations. ADOR claims that the company did not violate important obligations of the exclusive contract, thereby asserting that the termination notice is unjust. NewJeans claims the termination is justified due to a breakdown of trust. On the 7th, all members of NewJeans appeared in court and stated, "We have no desire to be with ADOR at all."
The industry is paying attention to how tampering will play a role in this dispute. Recently, five music organizations, including the Korea Management Association, the Korea Entertainment Producers Association, the Korea Music Label Industry Association, the Korea Recording Industry Association, and the Korea Music Content Association, stated, "If attempts at tampering succeed, the entertainment management industry, which is the core of the K-pop industry, could collapse, and overseas capital could take away the K-pop industry," thereby lending support to ADOR. They also urged the government and the National Assembly to take action to eliminate tampering.
The court will conclude the hearing by the 14th and determine the outcome of the provisional measures. They requested that all necessary evidence and documents be submitted by that date. They also asked NewJeans to reorganize and submit the list of reasons for the termination of the exclusive contract.
The first trial date for the lawsuit filed by ADOR regarding the validity of the exclusive contract is scheduled for the 3rd of next month.