After the NewJeans members left ADOR, the company filed a new lawsuit against the artists in Korean courts.
In early December 2024, a few days after the NewJeans members announced that they were terminating their exclusive contracts and officially leaving ADOR, the company responsible for managing their careers, the agency filed a lawsuit in the South Korean court, to confirm the validation of the contract made with Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein.
Now, this Monday, the 13th, ADOR issued a new statement (via Koreaboo) announcing that it has filed a new injunction with the Seoul Central District Court against the quintet to “preserve the agency’s status and prohibit the signing of advertising contracts ”.
According to the note, the action aims to “prevent members from signing advertising contracts independently and conducting advertising activities without ADOR’s approval”, with the aim of “avoiding confusion” with advertisers. See the statement:
“Last week, ADOR filed a petition with the Seoul District Court asking for an injunction to preserve the agency’s status and prohibit the signing of advertising contracts against NewJeans members.
This injunction recognizes that ADOR is the company under exclusive contract until the verdict of the first trial is announced for the lawsuit filed on December 3 last year. This is also to prevent members from independently signing advertising contracts and conducting advertising activities without ADOR’s approval.
We filed a preliminary injunction to avoid confusion for third parties, such as advertisers, as members unilaterally declared the termination of their exclusive contracts and continued to try to contact advertisers.
The members’ unilateral demands to terminate the exclusive contract will be confirmed as unfair through the previous lawsuit filed regarding the validity of the contract. However, as the process can take some time, we inevitably file an additional injunction to avoid confusion.
This injunction also reflects ADOR’s intention to continue working with NewJeans. If confusion and damage continues in the industry due to the member’s actions, the company’s brand value will decrease, losing its competitiveness in the industry. Even if the ruling later confirms that the contract is valid, it may not be possible to restore the damage that has already been done.”
ADOR also says in the application that “there must be an opportunity to correct the misjudgment before legal liability expands to the group. If a precedent is set that groups can unilaterally terminate contracts and engage in independent activities without legal proceedings, the incentive to invest in the entertainment industry will diminish, shaking up the K-Pop industry.”
The company continues to state that “it has supported and will continue to support NewJeans activities in accordance with the validity of the exclusive contract”, in addition to revealing that it has received “offers for projects and announcements” and that, despite the situation, they have finished planning the group activities for this year “including albums and fan meetings”, also expressing the desire to communicate with the members of NewJeans. The case remains ongoing.
Read also: ADOR cancels NewJeans content releases
Source: Recreio
