NewJeans, celebrating their third anniversary, are set to meet their agency, ADOR, in court once again.
On the 24th, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Agreement Division 41, presided over by Judge Jeong Hoe-il, will hold the third hearing for the lawsuit filed by ADOR against the members of NewJeans to confirm the validity of their exclusive contract.
In November of last year, NewJeans held an emergency press conference to announce the termination of their exclusive contract with ADOR. They revealed plans to pursue independent activities under the new name NJZ. In response, ADOR filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract and sought an injunction to prevent the group from signing any advertising contracts or engaging in independent activities.
The court granted ADOR's injunction request, effectively halting NewJeans' independent activities. In March, the court ruled in favor of ADOR, granting the injunction to maintain the agency's status and prevent advertising contracts. The court also accepted ADOR's request for indirect enforcement.
The court decided that if NewJeans engages in independent activities without ADOR's prior approval, each member must pay 1 billion KRW per violation to ADOR. Following the Hong Kong ComplexCon, NewJeans announced a suspension of activities and have been inactive for 15 months.
During the hearing on the 4th of last month, the court inquired about the possibility of a settlement. ADOR expressed willingness to settle, while NewJeans stated that the trust between the parties had irreparably broken, indicating no possibility of reconciliation.
Reported by Kim Ji-won, TenAsia one@tenasia.co.kr