The 52nd Seoul Central District Court sided with ADOR in an indirect enforcement lawsuit, which ruled that each member must pay 1 billion won (about $730,000) for each violation. For five members, the total penalty for an illegal group activity could be up to 5 billion won (about 3.65 million USD).
The court found that NewJeans violated the terms of the ban by participating in activities such as performing abroad and releasing music under the new group name, NJZ.
According to Korean media reports 1.6, in an official statement, NewJeans clarified that the court's decision to indirectly enforce the previous ban issued on March 21 prohibited members from conducting independent activities and the court's fine.
They stressed that the new ruling was not part of the ongoing appeal that they had filed against the original ban.
NewJeans added that the court's latest ruling is "temporary until the appeal is resolved". They continued to explain, "If the NewJeans members win the ban appeal, both the original and related indirect enforcement judgments will lose legal effect. In fact, indirect enforcement warrants are often issued together with judgments on bans.
In the first hearing last month, NewJeans' legal team expressed no intention of resolving the matter, while ADOR representatives said they were ready to resolve it. The second hearing is scheduled for June 5.
