In the ongoing dispute over the exclusive contract between NewJeans and their agency ADOR, the Seoul Central District Court has rejected member Hanni’s claim that she suffered a violation of personal rights due to an alleged “ignore her” comment made by a manager at another HYBE label.
On October 30, the 41 Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Jung Hoe-il, ruled in favor of ADOR in the case confirming the validity of its exclusive contracts with New Jeans. During the verdict, the court rejected many of the group’s arguments, including allegations of Hanni’s workplace mistreatment.
The court stated, “Based on the evidence presented, it is not sufficient to conclude that Hanni heard comments such as ‘ignoring her’ from an ILLIT manager, which would amount to a violation of her personal rights.” The court further explained that HYBE had immediately taken steps to verify the incident by requesting CCTV footage through its security and operations teams, who continued to search for related clips at ADOR’s request. However, as the CCTV did not record the audio, the court noted this “Even if the incident had been caught on camera, the alleged remarks would not have been recorded.”
The court concluded that ADOR had taken sufficient steps to verify the facts described by Hanni.
Previously, in October 2024, Hanni appeared before the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee as a witness to discuss “workplace bullying in the idol industry”. He testified, “I was waiting in the hallway after I finished doing my hair and makeup when some members of another label walked by. A manager looked at me and told them, ‘Pretend you didn’t see her. Ignore her.’ I couldn’t understand why this kept happening.
Later, Hanni posted on SNS, “I remember everything clearly. I wanted to talk about it in court but I chose to hold back.”
ADOR countersued, claiming that the incident was exaggerated by former CEO Min Hee-jin. The agency said “Hanni herself admitted that ILLIT members greeted her. She said, ‘I don’t remember, but maybe the manager just said to pass by without stopping.’ It was Min Hee-jin who turned it into “ignore her” and escalated it. Even Hanni didn’t see it as a serious problem.
During the court proceedings, ADOR highlighted its large investment of ₩21 billion New Jeans‘debut ₩7 billion for the debut album and ₩2 billion for music videos claiming that the unilateral termination of the group’s contract was “A clear violation of the agreement that undermines the foundations of the K-pop industry.” The label accused Min Hee-jin of “tampering” and trying to take New Jeans away for years, while still expressing a desire for reconciliation.
On the contrary, New Jeans argued that HYBE’s audit of Min Hee-jin was unfair and aimed to oust her, claiming that ADOR could no longer be trusted under HYBE’s control. The group also accused the agency of failing to protect its artists, suggesting they might only consider returning if Min Hee-jin was reinstated.
With reconciliation now off the table, ADOR appointed former HYBE executive Lee Do-kyung as its new director, while Min Hee-jin founded her own independent label OK.
While New Jeans appeared in court earlier this year for a related injunction hearing, the group did not attend the first or second hearings in the case over the validity of the exclusive contract.
Sources: Daum
