The recent judicial sentence in favor of Ador in his legal battle against Newjeans has aroused strong reactions throughout the entertainment sector. Experts agree that prohibiting the group from independent activities was a natural and expected result, strengthening the contractual obligations between artists and agencies.
The leaders of the sector support the decision of the Court
Following the sentence of the central district court of Seoul on March 21, which forbade Newjeans to conduct independent activities outside Ador, Choi Kwang-Ho, secretary of the Korea Music Contention, said: “It is common sense that artists cannot pursue solo activities while they are under an exclusive contract.“
Also underlined, “The Court rightly intervened in the questionable moves made by Newjeans in recent months. If independent activities were allowed before the verdict of the main cause, the legal process itself would lose its meaning. “
Lee Nam-Kyung, an official of Korea Management Federation, also supported the sentence, explaining, “Newjeans’ attempt to declare independence while he was still under contract was a risky decision from the beginning. “ He added, “This case could act as a previous key for how exclusive contracts are confirmed in the entertainment sector. “
An anonymous insider in the sector, indicated as A, stressed that none of the Newjeans topics was accepted during the injunction hearing, affirming: “The fact that their requests were completely rejected means that the court has found insufficient reasons for termination of the contract. “They also noticed,”If the Newjeans had been authorized to proceed with independent activities, Ador would have undergone serious financial losses and the reputation of both sides would have been significantly damaged. “
Context of the legal dispute
The dispute began in November 2024, when the members of Newjeans affirmed that Ador had violated their contract, leading them to declare their contract canceled and pursue independent activities. In response, Ador presented injunctions in January and February 2025, asking for Newjeans’ ban which signs independent contracts and engaged in music related to music.
With the court that now sides with Ador, experts in the sector consider it as a strengthening of the law on the contract in K-pop, indicating that the exclusive agreements must be respected until they have been officially interrupted with legal means.
While continues the cause on the large scale as regards the validity of the Newjeans contract, the entertainment industry is observing closely to see how this case will modify future relationships with artists’s agencies.
