NewJeans appear to be losing ground in their prolonged legal dispute with their agency, Ador.
The girl group filed an appeal Wednesday challenging the court’s decision on the same day to uphold its earlier injunction ruling in favor of Ador, which prohibits NewJeans from independently signing advertising contracts or pursuing separate music activities. The group had filed an objection to the ruling in March.
In the initial injunction ruling, the court rejected all 11 claims submitted by NewJeans as grounds for terminating their exclusive contracts. These included allegations that Ador’s parent company, Hybe, interfered with the group’s album release and debut promotions, as well as accusations of concept and choreography plagiarism involving another Hybe girl group, Illit.
In November, NewJeans claimed that its exclusive contract with Ador had been made invalid due to the agency's breach of trust and began independent activities under the name NJZ.
The following month, Ador filed a main lawsuit seeking court confirmation of the contract's validity — a case that remains ongoing, with the second hearing set for June 5. Legal experts say the group’s chances of parting ways with Ador depend almost entirely on the outcome of that trial.
“NewJeans must win the main lawsuit. The injunction filed by Ador and the main suit over the validity of the exclusive contract are separate proceedings,” said Bae Jin-sung, an entertainment lawyer at Law Firm Myoungjae. “Wednesday’s rejected objection regarding the injunction does not affect the outcome of the main lawsuit, though the injunction can still be challenged further within an appeal process.”
Bae also noted that Thursday's second hearing in the separate shareholder agreement termination case between Hybe and former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin would have no direct legal effect on the ongoing NewJeans-Ador contract dispute.
“The shareholder dispute between Hybe and Min Hee-jin is over the terms of their shareholder agreement. While elements of that conflict may surface as context in Ador’s injunction, it is difficult to say the two cases are directly connected,” Bae said. “They may influence each other indirectly, but the legal issues differ in detail. Even if Min wins, NewJeans could still lose the main lawsuit against Ador.”
Meanwhile, the second hearing in Hybe’s shareholder lawsuit against Min was held at the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday.
Though the lawsuits involve different parties, some industry watchers suggest that the court’s decision in Ador’s favor on the injunction case may indirectly influence the case on the shareholder dispute between Hybe and Min as well, given the overlapping claims.
jaaykim@heraldcorp.com
