According to Allkpop, on July 23, the Criminal Court No. 9 of the Seoul Western District Court, chaired by Judge Kim Min Jung, sentenced Kim (28 years old), who was brought to trial for illegal entry and theft, to a fine of 10 million won (about 189 million VND).
Previously, the prosecutor had proposed a 10-month prison sentence for Mr. Kim.
Mr. Kim was accused of illegally breaking into the dormitory of girl group NewJeans in Yongsan-gu, Seoul (Korea) twice last December and stealing hangers and some of the group's promotional photos.
This man also filmed a video inside the dormitory and posted it on an online community. However, at that time, NewJeans left the dormitory after announcing the termination of their exclusive contract with management company ADOR (under HYBE Group) at the end of November 2024.
The judge said: "The defendant admitted to the crime during the investigation, expressed remorse and had no previous conviction. These factors have been considered when deciding on the sentence".
The fact that NewJeans was no longer residing in the dormitory at the time of the incident was also considered in the verdict.
The judge noted that "the risk of a group's direct infringement of privacy is relatively low" and that "the losses from the theft are relatively small".
In the previous hearing, Mr. Kim said: I acted thoughtlessly and made a serious mistake. I sincerely apologize to the artist and management company for causing the harm. Please give me the opportunity to pursue my long-standing dream of becoming a civil servant.
NewJeans is currently facing a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract filed by ADOR.
The girl group announced a temporary hiatus from the end of March 2025, after the court approved ADOR's request for a temporary ban, to "maintain the company's management rights and prohibit NewJeans from signing advertising contracts".
NewJeans filed an appeal against this ban but were unsuccessful.
Although 5 NewJeans members (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) have announced a temporary hiatus, the group's social networking platforms managed by ADOR still update some information.
Recently, NewJeans' YouTube channel and social media account posted videos and a series of unprecedented photos of the group to celebrate their 3rd anniversary.
The fact that NewJeans was involved in a contract lawsuit and had to temporarily suspend operations made fans regretful. Previously, the 5-member girl group of ADOR, founded by former CEO Min Hee Jin, had an explosive debut and developed rapidly in less than 2 years.
According to ADOR, each NewJeans member has been divided a profit of 5 billion won thanks to the success of the group's music products and promotional activities.
