At 10:30 on 7 March, the Central District Court of SEUL (Civil Division 50) held the first hearing for the request for injunction by Ador to maintain its position as the Newjeans Management Agency and to prohibit members to sign independent advertising contracts.
The members and CEO of Newjeans Kim Joo-Yung appeared in court respectively as defendants and complaints. The members arrived around 10 am, dressed in black clothes, leaving a white van before entering the classroom.
During the hearing, he declared the legal representative of Ador, “Newjeans’ success has been supported by Ador’s full support. Hybe has invested 21 billion wins in two separate cases. This investment for a single group has no precedents. “
They further affirmed, “Newjeans is one of the world -class groups of girls representing Korea. While the talent and hard work of the members were the greatest contributions to their success, those factors alone do not fully explain their ascent. “
Ador’s legal representative said, “Newjeans is the only artist under Ador. Every single employee, of stylists, directors of music video, choreographers, to managers, was completely dedicated to Newjeans’ success by their interior days, working tirelessly for them. “
The company underlined Hybe’s significant financial support in Newjeans’ rise, saying, “(Due to the substantial investment of Hybe), we were able to create a fan platform exclusively for Newjeans and invest 10 billion KRW (about 7 million USD) exclusively in their debut and marketing.”
In addition to financial support, Ador said that Hybe’s intangible resources also played a crucial role in the success of the group. Their legal representative said, “Newjeans appeared in BTS’s music video before their debut and were presented from the beginning as” BTS younger sisters “. At the request of Min Hee-Jin, they were promoted as” the group that followed the footsteps of BTS “and also as” a group that exceeds BTS “. The use of the recognition of another group for the promotion was an unprecedented case within Hybe at that moment.”
At the end of November last year, the members of Newjeans informed unilaterally Ador of their contract termination. Ador refused to accept him and presented an injunction against them in January.
Initially, Ador said that the injunction was to prevent confusion and damage to third parties, like advertisers. However, last month, they expanded their request, asking the Court to prohibit not only advertising but also “All activities related to music, including lyric writing, composition, execution and singing, as well as any other accessory activity.”
