ADOR v. NewJeans: Lawsuit to Confirm Validity of Exclusive Contract – 1st Hearing
The 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jung Hoe-il) held the first hearing for the lawsuit seeking confirmation of exclusive contract validity filed by ADOR against the five NewJeans members (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein).
“Regarding the individual grounds for termination that the plaintiff mentions, each one alone is sufficient grounds for termination. However, even if each individual ground is not independently sufficient for termination, when they are all combined, the conclusion is that the trust between the plaintiff and defendants has been irreparably broken.“
When all management is replaced, the past corporation and the current corporation are formally the same, but in substance, they are completely different entities.
“Please don’t just look at former CEO Min alone. In this situation where former CEO Min was ousted, we ask the court to carefully examine whether the ADOR of the past and the ADOR of today is really the same ADOR that the defendants trusted.“
Mentioning the members’ unstable psychological state, they concluded with “The situation is not right (for settlement negotiations).”
“They keep saying Min Hee-jin was ousted, but Min Hee-jin left on her own. (ADOR) offered her a renewed board position and a producing role, but she said she couldn’t stay unless she was made CEO. She stalled with all kinds of excuses and then left, and immediately after that, the defendants unilaterally declared contract termination.”
“We hope for a settlement.”
“The fact that they successfully completed the Hong Kong concert independently without Min Hee-jin’s help shows that it is possible without Min Hee-jin. This also contradicts the defendants’ own statements and actions (such as saying they cannot perform normally without former CEO Min).”
When the court asked to confirm “Is it true that (the Hong Kong concert) was done without Min Hee-jin?”, they replied “That is our understanding.”
“Breach of trust is an abstract concept. I have handled many cases where idols who signed management contracts come asking to terminate because they never received any settlements and never became popular, but compared to those cases, (this case) is a very unusual one.”
The second hearing date was set for June 5, 2025.