According to legal sources on the 21st, Dolphiners Films submitted an appeal to the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 63 (Presiding Judge Lee Kyu-young) the previous day.
Earlier, on the 13th, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 62 (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-seok) ruled that Dolphiners Films must pay ADOR 1 billion won plus an annual 12% delay interest in the damages lawsuit filed by ADOR against Dolphiners Films and director Shin. However, the court dismissed the defamation-related damages claim of 100 million won against director Shin.
The dispute began when Dolphiners Films released the director's cut of the 'ETA' music video on its YouTube channel in August last year without ADOR's prior written consent. Director Shin claimed that ADOR requested the video be removed, leading to the deletion of NewJeans-related videos from an unofficial fan channel he operated. This sparked criticism of ADOR among some fans.
ADOR countered, stating, "We only requested the suspension of the 'ETA' director's cut video, not the removal or upload suspension of all NewJeans-related videos," and accused director Shin of spreading false information.
Subsequently, director Shin filed a lawsuit claiming that ADOR's statement regarding the 'unauthorized release of the director's cut' defamed him, while ADOR filed a damages lawsuit against Dolphiners Films, asserting that the ownership of NewJeans videos belongs to the company and that the unauthorized release was illegal.
Meanwhile, Dolphiners Films has reportedly filed for a stay of execution along with the appeal. This is seen as a precautionary measure, as the plaintiff could proceed with provisional execution even before the ruling is finalized.
Provisional execution allows the winning party to enforce the judgment before it is finalized, typically included in monetary judgments. The losing party can apply for a stay of execution to prevent enforcement.
Choi Ji-ye, TenAsia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr