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NewJeans vs ADOR first hearing: Label reveals paying NJZ members 5 billion KRW each as profit fulfilling exclusive contract duty
ADOR presented strong claims of investing their all for the success of NJZ, with the financial backing of HYBE. Read to know more.
NJZ (formerly NewJeans) and ADOR met in court for the first time on Friday, March 7, 2025, to settle their legal and public dispute regarding exclusive contract validity and the independent signing of advertisement deals. The first hearing of ADOR's lawsuit regarding the review of the label's injunction request against NJZ's entertainment activities took place this morning.
ADOR's claims centered on the significant financial backing they provided to the girl group, being instrumental in their stardom, as reported by K-media outlet K-POP Newswire.
The case was held at the Seoul Central District Court’s 50th Civil Affairs, which saw the attendance of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein and the entertainment label's representative. ADOR's side stated that the injunction intended to ensure that NJZ continues their entertainment activities while adhering to their existing contract and involving the management agency in the process.
Lately, NJZ had been attempting to arbitrarily sign advertisement deals and other entertainment contracts without informing ADOR, which, according to them, was not legally permissible.
The label mentioned fulfilling all their promised duties as per the quintet's exclusive contract with them, including paying them 5 billion KRW each as profit settlement fee. Through this point, they rejected the reasoning of the group for their termination of contract with ADOR in November last year. The quintet cited mistreatment and the agency’s failure to fulfill its contractual obligations, leading them to take the drastic decision of parting ways with them.
ADOR's representative attributed NJZ's global success to the lump sum spent by ADOR and HYBE (the company owning an 80% stake in ADOR) on them.
As per the management company's legal counsel, "NewJeans is a group that HYBE invested a huge amount of 21 billion won (about $14.5 million USD) to carefully nurture." Refuting NJZ's allegations of mistreatment, ADOR's representative countered, "There is no company that would foolishly discriminate against and ruin such a group," as a substantial investment had been made in them. The plaintiff also stated, "NewJeans' claims go against objective facts" and asserted that their arguments lack any evidence or legal basis.
As per them, the group "can’t terminate an exclusive contract based on speculation alone." The label maintained their stance on the contract's validity being July 31st, 2029.
NewJeans vs ADOR first hearing: Label claims 'next BTS' tag given by Min Hee Jin, success due to 21 billion KRW investment
