NewJeans will have to honour their exclusive contracts with ADOR through 2029 – find out more below.
Today (October 30), the Seoul Central District Court rejected the K-pop group’s appeal to terminate their contract and agreement with ADOR in order to pursue independent activities.
The verdict makes official that NewJeans will have to remain with ADOR exclusively through 2029 unless the group are able to win an appeal – according to news outlet The ChoSun Daily, representatives of the group have confirmed that they will be filing an immediate appeal against the verdict.
While none of the five members of NewJeans were present in court, all five of them have been ordered to bear the litigation costs of the legal dispute. The total amount to be paid has not yet been made public.
Part of NewJeans’ appeal was shaped around their claim that former ADOR head Min Hee-jin’s removal from the company has made them feel unprotected and that the label were incapable of promoting the group with the same care that Min had – the court ruled: “It is difficult to conclude that merely the fact that Min Hee-jin was dismissed from her position as CEO of ADOR caused a gap in management duties for the NewJeans members or that ADOR lacks the plans or capabilities to perform those duties.”
The court explained further: “The exclusive contract does not stipulate anywhere that ADOR must entrust the management duties for NewJeans to Min Hee-jin,” and “It cannot be considered a significant contractual obligation to guarantee Min Hee-jin’s position as ADOR’s CEO merely because NewJeans personally places high trust in her.”
“Considering that ADOR released albums, prepared fan meetings, established plans for a world tour, and provided opportunities for events and commercial shoots even when NewJeans was not cooperating, it is difficult to conclude that ADOR cannot be expected to fulfill management services for NewJeans.”
Legal representatives for NewJeans said in a statement: “While the members respect the court’s decision, it is impossible to return to ADOR and continue normal entertainment activities under the current situation where the trust relationship with ADOR has already been completely broken”.
NewJeans – who recently celebrated the third anniversary since their debut – are currently on indefinite hiatus. Late last year, the group announced that they were terminating their contracts with ADOR with immediate effect, following a lengthy legal battle between HYBE and NewJeans’ creative director Min Hee-jin for control of the group.
In March, ADOR filed an injunction against the group requesting to block them from carrying out independent activities under a different moniker. The injunction came after the group independently rebranded themselves as NJZ and were announced to perform at ComplexCon in Hong Kong.
The group would proceed with their ComplexCon performance, where they debuted a new song and announced an indefinite hiatus after a court ruled against the band’s rebranding. “We have decided to stop all activities for the time being in accordance with the court ruling. It wasn’t an easy decision but a necessary one,” they told the crowd, per The Korea Times.
In June, the court ruled that NewJeans are urged to honour their contracts with ADOR, and will not be legally permitted to engage in individual or group activities without the agency’s approval. Additionally, the court has maintained that NewJeans’ allegations of mistreatment at the hands of ADOR have no standing due to a lack of evidence. The group filed an appeal against the ruling, leading to today’s (October 30) decision, which they are again intending to appeal.
