Since the exclusive contractual dispute between the group of Newjeans girls and their ADR agency inserts a legal procedure in all respects, the court has considered the “special” case and requires careful review.
The first hearing for the cause of Ador to confirm the validity of the exclusive contracts of Newjeans was held on the morning of June 3 at the Civil Division 41 of the central district court of Seoul, chaired by judge Jung Hoe-Il. Newjeans’ members did not participate; Only legal representatives of both sides were present to declare their positions.
The Court raised questions about Newjeans’ request for a “complete rupture of trust”, noting that this case differs from the typical exclusive contractual disputes. The judge said, “Usually a breakdown of trust is clearly visible simultaneously, but this case is special. In the past, most of the cases involved idols that required the termination of the contract before debut or without receiving adequate regulation payments, but the Newjeans are already high -level idols.”
“If the statement is that trust has reduced because the former CEO Min Hee-Jin is no longer there, this differs from the concepts of distribution of conventional trust. This requires careful consideration.”
Newjeans claims that Ador “is no longer the same company”
Newjeans’ legal team stressed that after the removal of Min Hee-Jin, Ador has become a completely different society.
They discussed, “A company can take on completely different characteristics when the management changes. Ador without Min Hee-Jin is not the company that the Newjeans trust, so we ask the court to judge whether to continue with them is appropriate.”
They further underlined, “The key reasons for the breakdown of trust are not only the absence of min, but also the lack of alternatives or communications to replace it.” In response, Ador contrasted him, “Min hee-jin was not ousted but voluntarily left.”
They said, “Even after changing the managing directors, we offered production roles to Min, but he said he could not participate without staying like CEO”, keeping it, “The contract with Newjeans remains valid and Ador has sufficient production skills as an agency.”
The court explored the possibilities of mediation but found clear differences in positions. While Ador expressed hopes for the settlement, Newjeans has clearly traced a line, affirming, “Currently, members are unable to consider the agreement.”
This main cause is connected to a previous injunction procedure to preserve the state of the Ador agency and block the Newjeans to enter into independent advertising contracts. In February, the Court issued an injunction that forbids the independent activities of the Newjeans, which the group presented appeal on March 21st. The audition of appeal is scheduled for April 9th.
In the meantime, the second hearing for Newjeans, Ador is planned for a validity of the exclusive contract for June 5.
