According to the Korea Herald, ADOR (under HYBE Group) has completed some demos of new songs for the next album of NewJeans, and submitted a list of songs to the Seoul Central District Court as evidence in the lawsuit over the contract with NewJeans.
According to legal sources, ADOR filed the list in court in July. The list is said to contain more than 5 new song demos and be related to a studio album.
The move is seen as evidence that ADOR is still fully fulfilling its management and production responsibilities for NewJeans, despite the ongoing exclusive contract dispute.
The songs on the list were submitted to the court in MR format, meaning the lyrics were completed but no members' voices were recorded.
In a press release after the court's ruling on October 31, ADOR said, "As stated in the trial, we have completed preparations for the release of NewJeans' studio album and are waiting for the members."
Although the music genre that ADOR produced for the group has not been released, Korea Herald confirmed that Beasts And Natives Alike (BANA) - the creative group behind NewJeans previous hits such as Attention, Hype Boy, OMG and Ditto - is unlikely to participate in new compositions.
BANA, founded by Kim Ki Hyun, a longtime friend of former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, who was fired last year.
The dispute between NewJeans (5 members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) and ADOR broke out in November 2024. At that time, NewJeans held an emergency press conference, announcing the termination of their contract with ADOR on the grounds of breach of trust.
In response, ADOR said, "Simply declaring a broken trust cannot be the basis for terminating the contract," and filed a lawsuit on December 3, 2024 to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract.
After the court accepted ADOR's request for a temporary ban on NewJeans in March 2025, NewJeans announced a temporary suspension of operations.
The girl group and ADOR went through two mediations in August and September, but could not reach an agreement, leading to a final verdict on October 30 with ADOR winning.
The court concluded: "The exclusive contract between ADOR and NewJeans signed on April 21, 2022 is still valid." The defendant, NewJeans, must pay all costs related to the lawsuit."
NewJeans announced that they will appeal, once again emphasizing that their trust in ADOR has completely collapsed, so they cannot return to the company and continue normal entertainment activities.
