On October 30, ADOR Company (under HYBE Group) won a lawsuit related to an exclusive contract with girl group NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein).
After winning, ADOR stated, The court has ruled that the exclusive contract between ADOR and the NewJeans members is still valid.
The court affirmed that ADOR did not violate the obligations of a management company and that NewJeans' attempt to withdraw from the contract due to loss of confidence was unacceptable. We are very grateful for the court's decision.
ADOR added: Over the past year, the court has issued many judgments in related lawsuits affirming that ADOR is still a legal management company and the artists are obliged to continue working with the company.
After a long time of verifying many complaints and the evidence has been carefully reviewed, we hope that today's result will be an opportunity for artists to calmly reflect on the whole incident."
Notably, ADOR affirmed: We will once again remember our role and responsibility as a management company.
As stated in the trial, ADOR is waiting for the artist's response after completing all preparations for the official album and promotional activities.
We will do our best to bring NewJeans back to the fans soon through dialogue with artists.
Meanwhile, NewJeans' legal representative stated, "Although the members respect the court's decision, they still believe that their trust in ADOR has completely collapsed, so they cannot return to the company and continue normal entertainment activities.
The members plan to appeal immediately after the first instance judgment and hope that the appellate court will comprehensively review the events and legal principles related to the termination of the exclusive contract to make a wise decision.
According to Sports Chosun, the music industry welcomed ADOR's victory after the first instance trial.
The Korea Management Federation (KMF) assessed this verdict as an important decision, reaffirming the stability of the exclusive contract system - the foundation of the Kpop industry.
The Association has repeatedly pointed out that this is a serious problem that could shake the foundation of the entire K-pop industry, which is based on trust between artists and management companies, and expressed deep concern about the collapse of contract order and trust in the industry.
According to TenAsia, the exclusive contract between NewJeans and ADOR is valid until July 31, 2029. However, considering the time the group was suspended due to the lawsuit, it is likely that the contract will be extended by about 1 year.
