ADOR’s exclusive contracts with the NewJeans members have been ruled valid.
On October 30, the 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in ADOR’s (Subsidary of HYBE Labels) lawsuit seeking court confirmation that the exclusive contracts with the five NewJeans members are valid.
The court stated:
It is difficult to conclude that ADOR breached the exclusive contract solely by dismissing former CEO Min Hee Jin.” They further found, “Even if Min Hee Jin was removed from the CEO position, she could have performed producer duties as a director on the board, and it was not necessary for her to remain CEO to do so
On November 28 last year, NewJeans held an emergency press conference, declaring they would leave the company, saying the issues they had asked ADOR to rectify had not been addressed.
They had also called for the reinstatement of former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, who was removed from her post in August last year following a conflict with HYBE.
Following the court’s decision, a legal representative for the NewJeans members released an official statement, revealing that they will appeal the court ruling.
Hello, this is Shin & Kim LLC, legal representative for Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein (hereafter the “members”).
For the lawsuit filed by ADOR against the members for the confirmation of the validity of their exclusive contracts, the Seoul Central District Court ruled at the court of first instance today that the exclusive contracts are valid.
The members respect the court’s decision, but given that their relationship of trust with ADOR has completely collapsed, they believe it is impossible to return to ADOR and continue their activities in the entertainment industry in a normal manner.
Accordingly, the members will 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 governing termination of the exclusive contracts and render a wise judgment.
Lastly, we would like to express sincere gratitude to the fans who are waiting and showing support for this long period of time.
Thank you.
ADOR has released an official statement following their court victory, Read ADOR’s full statement below:
Today, the court ruled that the exclusive contracts between our company and our artists NewJeans remain valid in the exclusive contract validity lawsuit.
The court determined that our company did not violate any obligations as a management agency and that any attempt to break away from the exclusive contracts by citing a breakdown in trust should not be permitted.
We are deeply grateful for the court’s decision.
Since the artists claimed termination of the exclusive contracts in November last year, we have been watching the series of processes—the main lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contracts, the injunction application to prevent confusion until the main judgment is issued, the court’s decision to grant the injunction, the artists’ immediate appeal, and the decision to dismiss it—with a heavy heart and have responded carefully throughout.
For nearly a year, the court has consistently ruled in multiple related cases that our company holds the position of management agency under the exclusive contracts and that the artists are to carry out entertainment activities with us.
We sincerely hope that today’s result, which once again affirms the same conclusion after a long period of examining various claims and facts, will serve as an opportunity for the artists to calmly reconsider this matter.
We, too, will once again reaffirm our role and responsibilities as a management agency under the exclusive contracts. As stated during the trial, we have completed preparations for future activities including the release of a full-length album and are ready to proceed. Through discussions with the artists, we will do our utmost to return to fans as soon as possible.
Let’s hope the two can come to a conclusion!, Updates will be posted as imformations is released.
