NewJeans officially lost the lawsuit, was banned from operating, and was forced to return to ADOR?

On March 21, Senior Judge Kim Sang Hoon of the Seoul Central District Court's Unified Civil Court No. 50 ruled that NewJeans should not conduct independent activities or sign performance and advertising contracts without permission, thereby approving ADOR's request for a temporary injunction against five members of the group, in order to maintain the legal status of the management company.

The content of ADOR's request to the court initially included a request to prevent the members from signing independent advertising contracts. ADOR later expanded the request, asking to ban the group's activities related to composing, performing, and other entertainment activities.

Previously, on March 7, the first hearing related to this submission by ADOR and NewJeans took place, with many "storms" between the two sides in the fight to gain the upper hand in the final judgment.

The argument that NewJeans strongly defended against ADOR was related to the accusation of concept plagiarism between the group and their juniors from the same entertainment group HYBE, ILLIT. NewJeans argued that ADOR was not strong enough to protect the group from being copied by their fellow company, and even intended to "join hands" with the leadership to replace the group since discovering Min Hee Jin's "rebellious" intentions.

NewJeans' motive is said to have come from the group's "mother", Min Hee Jin, "falling off the horse" from ADOR and HYBE due to conflicts. In November 2024, the group voluntarily terminated their contract with ADOR and announced their independent activities. NewJeans plans to re-debut under the name NJZ, performing a new song at the ComplexCon Hong Kong 2025 music festival on March 21-23.

The latest court ruling has caused a stir in the K-Pop fan community. It is still unclear what NewJeans' official response and next move will be in response to the current situation.

The dispute between ADOR and NewJeans began last November when five members of the group announced that they were terminating their contracts and seeking to engage in independent activities and advertising deals. This action prompted ADOR to immediately take legal action to prevent the group from carrying out activities outside the company's control.

In an official statement, ADOR expressed their disappointment: "It is regrettable that the members attempted to carry out independent entertainment activities before receiving a legal judgment. This could be a serious violation of their contracts." In response, NewJeans countered: "We tried to resolve the issue amicably, but ADOR and HYBE's actions have left us with no choice but to fight for the truth in court."

However, the court also emphasized that ADOR's management rights will only be maintained until a formal ruling is made in the first trial on the validity of the exclusive contract between the two parties, meaning that NewJeans' future will depend entirely on the outcome of the next lawsuit.

Despite the court's decision, NewJeans confirmed that they will perform at ComplexCon Hong Kong on March 23 as originally planned. They emphasized that this was a move to avoid affecting fans and event organizers. This shows that despite being embroiled in a tense legal dispute, the group is still trying to maintain activities to maintain relationships with the fan community.

ADOR, on the other hand, continued to affirm its commitment to supporting the group as its official management agency. In a statement following the ruling, ADOR stressed: "We respect the court's decision and will continue to fully support the group's activities under the name NewJeans."

NewJeans is on the rise, leaving ADOR, despite lawsuits, still on the cover Trí Nhi16:16:51 25/12/2024Fashion magazine Vogue Korea has just announced that 5 Kpop female idols Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein (members of the group NewJeans) will be the cover faces for the inaugural issue (January) of 2025.