Recently, ADOR company (under HYBE Group) shocked when announcing the termination of her contract with Danielle (NewJeans), the reason being that she was slow in the process of resolving the dispute between the group NewJeans and ADOR.
At the same time, ADOR has filed a lawsuit against Danielle, a member of her family, and former CEO Min Hee Jin, demanding compensation of 43.1 billion won.
But after 2 days, Danielle remained completely silent. Even, the female singer was said to have participated in a volunteer charcoal distribution activity on the very day her contract with ADOR was terminated, she appeared with a calm, cheerful attitude.
According to legal experts, Danielle's silence is not unusual. Lawyer Chong Kyong Sok of Liwu Law Group said that artists involved in ongoing disputes "are often advised not to make public statements".
Celebrities are subject to higher supervision, and their public statements can be used against them in court as legal evidence.
Danielle's continuous silence can be considered a decision to observe ADOR's next move after the company gave a more detailed explanation of its position and decision," lawyer Chong explained.
However, Korean media commented that in the Kpop market, where idols are expected to maintain continuous interaction with fans, Danielle's silence is causing fans to worry.
Kpop fans are used to interacting continuously with idols, sharing emotions and updating information. Danielle's silence makes it impossible to know where she is standing or how she plans to move forward from here," cultural critic Kim Heon Sik analyzed.
The critic added that fans who had hoped that NewJeans would continue to operate with a 5-member squad (Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Hyein, Danielle) were even more confused.
When that image is shattered, many people find it hard to imagine what the future of NewJeans will be like without Danielle, or worry about whether the group can continue to operate in the near future, when legal disputes are predicted to drag on.
How to manage fans' emotions with the remaining members in the group is an important task that ADOR must solve," the critic emphasized.
However, lawyers believe that the court's ability to accept the entire amount of compensation requested by ADOR is very low, possibly only about 2-11% of the total of 43.1 billion won, which is about 0.8 to 4.8 billion won.
Legal experts analyzed that compared to Danielle's remaining contract term and NewJeans' expected revenue, the figure of 43.1 billion won is too large compared to conventional exclusive contract disputes.
If the court determines that NewJeans' success is not only thanks to the company but also thanks to Danielle's talent and fame, this contribution will be deducted from the compensation.
On the other hand, NewJeans has achieved global success and brought in huge revenue for ADOR, so most of ADOR's initial investment costs may have been recovered, leading to lower actual damage.
In particular, ADOR will have difficulty in proving that former CEO Min Hee Jin and Danielle's family directed or helped her violate the contract, if they want to prosecute responsibility for the general illegal act.
