NEWJEANS
In the end, no agreement has been reached yet. The girl group NEWJEANS and the agency ADOR have scheduled a new conciliation hearing regarding their dispute over the exclusive contract.
On August 14, the 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court held a conciliation hearing for ADOR’s lawsuit to recognize the validity of the exclusive contract against NEWJEANS (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein).
On the day of the hearing, around 1:48 PM, before the 2:00 PM session, members MINJI and DANIELLE arrived in suits. Without making a statement, they entered the building with their lawyers, while many journalists followed, showing public interest. Several security personnel were stationed in front of the court, and barriers marked “restricted area” were set up.
Conciliation Fails for Now… NEWJEANS vs ADOR, New Hearing on September 11
The conciliation hearing, which lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes, ended, and the court plans to hold a new session on September 11.
After the hearing, both parties left the court without answering journalists’ questions.
In previous statements, the court indicated that, due to the seriousness of the case before judgment, the conciliation session would be held behind closed doors and required the presence of the NEWJEANS members, stating that “those with actual decision-making authority should be present.”
If no agreement is reached, the case will proceed directly to the trial hearing, scheduled for October 30.
At the time, ADOR stated: “We invested 21 billion won and fully supported NEWJEANS: 7 billion for their debut album, 2 billion for the music video, and HYBE also provided active support. Thanks to this, NEWJEANS achieved tremendous success, recognized by the court.” They continued: “Nevertheless, the members’ unilateral termination of the contract constitutes a breach of the exclusive contract, which the court cannot accept. Refusing exclusivity in artistic activities can be grounds for termination. Min Hee Jin also manipulated the situation. She has been trying to divert NEWJEANS for three years.”
Through a presentation, ADOR revealed some KakaoTalk messages from Min Hee Jin regarding the diversion of NEWJEANS and claimed: “She asked the members’ mothers to write letters of protest and send them to ADOR to cancel the exclusive contract, even taking into account the contract suspension period. She acted meticulously and confidently, saying ‘there is no proof.’ The letters were meant to reflect a parent’s perspective. She created an artificial pretext to cancel the exclusive contract and developed seven points for a media campaign that lasted about seven months. Behind the contract termination was Min Hee Jin. The members’ parents also participated in this campaign. Min Hee Jin was behind the live streams and parliamentary appearances.”
ADOR also stated: “We offered many artistic opportunities and a perfect settlement. Trust in NEWJEANS was never broken. The court stated that one cannot claim trust was broken based on NEWJEANS’ subjective view. The claim that ‘HYBE abandoned NEWJEANS to start over’ is a misunderstanding. Min Hee Jin raised no objections until she used a report written 1 year and 5 months prior for her media campaign.”
Regarding the “ignore” issue involving manager of ILLIT, ADOR replied: “This is not a reason to terminate the contract, and there was no reason to delete the surveillance video; it was simply erased after 30 days.” ADOR added: “A week after ADOR sent its corrective response, Min Hee Jin resigned, and NEWJEANS then terminated the contract. From start to finish, Min Hee Jin was the origin. NEWJEANS’ actions, following Min Hee Jin’s behavior, also violate the contract. The risks of failure remain with the agency, but any success would go entirely to her.”
On their side, NEWJEANS members stated: “The attempt to divert NEWJEANS was called a management takeover, but there was no basis for an audit or removal; it was a professional misconduct issue. In this context, NEWJEANS’ objections were most affected. The police did not recognize Min Hee Jin’s professional misconduct. The audit or removal attempt was based on false premises.”
NEWJEANS added: “Today, ADOR is no longer the successful agency it once was; ADOR is now controlled by HYBE employees. Despite large contributions and dividends, that only applied to the time when Min Hee Jin was director. The current ADOR cannot be trusted.”
They also questioned: “ILLIT’s plagiarism suspicions are real. Is it a coincidence that two girl group concepts, three years apart, are identical?” They explained that a mother raised the issue, and Min Hee Jin later filed a complaint with Belief Lab, triggering an audit under the pretext of a management takeover. The audit was punitive, and all allegations were dismissed.
NEWJEANS clarified: “Min Hee Jin’s KakaoTalk messages are private and could be taken lightly, but they were used to justify an audit for a management takeover, which is a false framework. Articles about HYBE and BTS number no more than 120, but 1,700 articles came out about the audit before NEWJEANS’ comeback.”
Regarding the claim that HANNI was ignored by manager ILLIT, NEWJEANS said: “There is a video of her arrival, but why was the departure video deleted? This makes Hanni look like a liar. What do the other members think when they see this? How can we return to an agency that treats its artist like this?”
NEWJEANS’ lawyer emphasized: “The members constantly asked to return to ADOR before April 2024; this is not a categorical refusal. To explain why the members were pushed into this situation and their current feelings, we must speak without involving Min Hee Jin.”
The next hearing to attempt to reach an agreement will be held in September.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source Korean Medias
