On November 9, ADOR announced on its official Twitter account, "Since NewJeans' debut, we have been continuously monitoring and taking legal action against malicious online posts targeting the artists. Recently, the volume and severity of these malicious posts have increased significantly, prompting us to appoint additional dedicated personnel and strengthen our response system."
ADOR explained, "We are constantly collecting evidence of serious rights violations, including derogatory remarks about the artists' nationality and appearance, the spread of false information (fake news), invasion of privacy, and the use of malicious slurs and derogatory terms. We are requesting swift deletions and pursuing legal procedures concurrently."
They further warned, "For malicious posts that are repetitive or have reached a criminal level, we are taking criminal complaints. We have submitted a complaint to the Yongsan Police Station and plan to continue filing additional complaints."
The Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 50 (Chief Judge Kim Sang-hoon) ruled in favor of ADOR in a case involving 'agency status preservation and prohibition of advertising contract signing' against NewJeans members on October 21. NewJeans had claimed their contract with ADOR was terminated last November and announced plans for independent activities, but the court's decision has halted these plans.
The five members of NewJeans have filed an objection to the court's injunction decision. In an interview with foreign media, they stated, "Our actions are justified." In an interview with TIME magazine on October 22, they expressed disappointment, saying, "It seems Korea wants to make us revolutionaries." On October 26, BBC News Korea's official YouTube channel denied the 'Min Hee-jin conspiracy theory.'
On October 23, NewJeans announced a "temporary suspension of activities" at the 'ComplexCon' stage in Hong Kong and have since remained out of the public eye. They have also shut down their SNS channel, previously named NJZ, and changed it to MHDHH, an acronym for the initials of the members' names. A PR channel claiming to represent the parents of the five members has also changed its name to MHDHH.
Hello,
This is ADOR.
We would like to provide an update on our legal response to protect the rights of NewJeans.
Since NewJeans' debut, we have been continuously monitoring and taking legal action against malicious online posts targeting the artists. Recently, the volume and severity of these malicious posts have increased significantly, prompting us to appoint additional dedicated personnel and strengthen our response system.
We are targeting multiple online sites and SNS channels, including DC Inside, Ilgan Best, Nate Pann, FM Korea, Naver, Blind, Gaedrip, TheQoo, Ppomppu, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, to collect evidence of serious rights violations, such as derogatory remarks about the artists' nationality and appearance, the spread of false information (fake news), invasion of privacy, and the use of malicious slurs and derogatory terms. We are requesting swift deletions and pursuing legal procedures concurrently.
In particular, for malicious posts that are repetitive or have reached a criminal level, we are taking criminal complaints. We have submitted a complaint to the Yongsan Police Station and plan to continue filing additional complaints.
We are also responding strictly to deepfake crimes, which have become a significant social issue. We are closely cooperating with investigative agencies regarding the production and distribution of false videos targeting the artists, and a related suspect has been detained and sent to the prosecution.
ADOR will not make any settlements or show leniency in legal responses related to artist rights protection. We are taking additional measures at the company level to ensure perpetrators receive appropriate punishment and are actively implementing them.
The interest and reports from fans are a great help in our legal response. We encourage active reporting through the 'HYBE Artist Rights Violation Report Site' regarding artist rights violations.
We are always grateful for the love and dedication of our fans, and ADOR will continue to strive to protect the rights of our artists.
Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr