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 procedure, the part of Newjeans reiterated the statements that had previously been made public during the controversy between the former CEO of Ador Min Hee-Jin and Hybe, including the accusations of the discriminatory treatment of Hybe, which copied Newjeans and the notorious “Ignora Hanni” accident that involved a manager of Belift Lab.
Newjeans’ lawyer supported, “The vast manipulation of the media of Hybe, their plan to abandon the Newjeans and start over, the controversy on Illit’s plagiarism and the inability of cooperation with the dolphin films: this happened all between 2023 and 2024“
The lawyer continued, “The other subsidiary labels of Hybe have constantly engaged in unjust practices and Ador does not have the ability to prevent these actions both to adopt adequate post-phacto measures. If the same situation had occurred in another agency, they wouldn’t have stopped and they wouldn’t have done anything as Ador did. “
Statements of favoritism towards Le Sserafim
The part of Newjeans indicated the music of Hybe’s subsidiary source as an example of discriminatory treatment, affirming: “Hybe had promised that Newjeans would debut as the first group of Hybe girls. Min Hee-Jin joined Hybe with this expectation. However, after the Newjeans completed the debut evaluation in March 2021, Hybe left them neglected until September 2021. “
The lawyer also said that in the meantime the music of origin has recruited Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin and “Debluad Le Sserafim first”. “No explanation was given during this period. In addition, the Hyein member was selected as an ambassador for a particular brand, but suddenly the Sserafim was also appointed ambassador for the same brand. When we checked with the brand, they said Hybe had requested it first and had hypothesized that Hybe had obtained Newjeans’ approval. The brand later apologized for the misunderstanding.“
Newjeans accuses Hybe of launching Illit as a copy group
The part of Newjeans also said that Hybe intentionally launched Illit as a model modeled to devalue and replace the Newjeans.
They said, “Newjeans’ original conceptual plans have been copied. We also received relationships on this from the same employees of Hybe. Despite a three -year gap between their debut, there are more relationships that affirm that IlLit’s concept has an excessive similarity with the Newjeans. When comparing the planning documents, the structure, the models, the references and the content are surprisingly similar. “
As proof, the part of Newjeans presented the traditional Korean Hanbok photos of both groups to make a comparison, supporting, “At first glance, you can’t even say which Newjeans is and what analysis is. Why have they felt the need to replicate the exact color palette, the concept and the plots? Ador did not underline it first, nor Newjeans’ parents: fans were the ones who initially reacted, saying: “This is really too much”.“
They also said that the teaser images, the style, choreography and public presentation of Illit were all imitations of Newjeans.
As additional tests, they played to film Illit’s choreography, supporting, “The dance move of Newjeans’ signature was “reinterpreted” under the excuse of being a tribute. However, neither Ador nor Newjeans have ever allowed this copy. “They also criticized Hybe’s management of the problem, stating:”Hybe launched a sudden large-scale audit against Min Hee-Jin, used the manipulation of the media and even presented the presentation of a billion a billion cause for her. Now they say: “We don’t know if it is a plagiarism, but we wait for the court to decide”.“
Revisit the “Ignore Hanni” accident
The part of Newjeans also raised the “ignore Hanni” controversy, stating, “Ador was unable to protect Hanni when the Belift Lab manager made contemptuous observations about her. Instead of dealing with the problem, Ador behaved as if Hanni was lying.“
They accused Kim Joo-Young of violation of contractual obligations, affirming: “CEO Kim gave priority to protect Hybe and Belift Lab rather than safeguard Hanni. His inability to ask for excuses or guarantee the prevention of future accidents was a violation of his duty to protect his artists and a violation of the exclusive contract.“
At the end of November last year, Newjeans unilaterally notified their intent to stop the exclusive contract. However, Ador refused to accept it and presented an injunction against members in January.
Initially, Ador said that the injunction was necessary to prevent confusion and damage to third parties, such as advertisers. However, on February 11, Ador expanded his request, asking the Court to prohibit not only advertising but also any activity related to music, including songwriting and composition, together with any other additional activity.
