The girl group filed an appeal on April 16, against the court's decision to maintain the previous ban in favor of ADOR, prohibiting NewJeans from signing independent advertising contracts or pursuing separate music activities.
Previously, NewJeans filed its first appeal in March but were rejected.
In the original ban decision, the court rejected all 11 complaints filed by NewJeans as a basis for terminating the exclusive contract with ADOR.
These complaints include allegations that ADOR's parent company - HYBE - had interfered in the group's album release and promotion, as well as allegations of plagiarism and choreography related to another HYBE girl group, ILLIT.
In November last year, NewJeans announced that their exclusive contract with ADOR had ended, citing the company's breach of trust. After that, the 5 female idols (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, Hyein) began to work independently under the name NJZ.
In December 2024, ADOR filed an official lawsuit requesting the court to confirm the validity of the contract. The first hearing took place on April 3, and the second hearing was scheduled for June 5.
Legal experts said that NewJeans' chance of parting ways with ADOR depends almost entirely on the outcome of this trial.
Bae Jin Sung, an entertainment lawyer at Myoungjae Law Firm, analyzed: NewJeans must win the main lawsuit. The temporary ban filed by ADOR and the main lawsuit regarding the validity of the exclusive contract are separate procedures.
The dismissal of NewJeans' first appeal against the ban did not affect the outcome of the main lawsuit.
Lawyer Bae Jin Sung also noted that the recent hearing in the lawsuit to terminate the shareholder agreement between HYBE Group and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin will not have any direct legal impact on the ongoing contract dispute between NewJeans and ADOR.
The dispute between HYBE and Min Hee Jin is about the terms in their shareholder agreement. While the elements of that conflict may appear as a context in the lawsuit between ADOR and NewJeans, it is difficult to say that the two cases are directly related.
They can interact indirectly, but the legal issues are different in detail. Even if Min Hee Jin wins, NewJeans could still lose in the main lawsuit against ADOR" - the lawyer shared.
