NewJeans vs. ADOR: Court dismisses NJZ’s ILLIT ignore claims as ‘not sufficiently proven,’ rules based on CCTV footage

The court dismissed NJZ's claims that ILLIT's manager encouraged them to ignore Hanni, citing lack of evidence. Read on for more details.

By Peuli Bakshi

Updated on Mar 22, 2025 | 01:32 PM IST | 34.7K

NewJeans: courtesy of NewJeans' X

On March 21, HYBE's subsidiary ADOR won their injunction request against NJZ (formerly known as NewJeans). During the hearing of the case, several incidents that led to the girl group wanting to part ways with the company were discussed, including their claims that their ILLIT hoobaes (juniors) ignored Hanni. As per the Korean portal theqoo's March 21 report, the court rejected the claims based on arguments and evidence presented by both sides.

During the hearing, the controversial incident was revisited and NJZ's legal counsel argued that HYBE's subsidiary group ILLIT's manager told them to ignore Hanni when they crossed paths with her in the company building. As a retaliatory move, the label's legal representative revisited the controversial incident, presenting CCTV footage as evidence to bolster their argument. The video included ILLIT members bowing to show respect to Hanni, disproving the NJZ member's claim of being mocked and ignored by them.

The Seoul Central District Court considered the evidence crucial and presented its ruling based on it. The judge said, "It is difficult to conclude that Hanni actually heard these (disrespectful) remarks." Besides the CCTV footage showing three ILLIT members bowing to Hanni, the court's decision was also based on a KakaoTalk message Hanni sent to former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin on the same day. The text described an uncomfortable greeting from ILLIT members.

As a result, the court concluded that "it has not been sufficiently proven that Hani heard remarks that were to the extent of violating her personal rights." The NewJeans vs ADOR dispute began when the girl group announced their intention to terminate their exclusive contract with ADOR at a November 2024 press conference. The group, consisting of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein, then rebranded to NJZ in February 2025, applying for trademark rights and unveiling future plans, despite their contract remaining valid until July 2029.

A month before, in January, ADOR filed an injunction against them to halt their arbitrary ad deal signing, which the court granted after two hearings in March. The court's decision effectively blocks the group from pursuing independent activities under their new name, NJZ.