South Korean girl group NewJeans featuring Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein received a new court directive on Friday (March 21), following the legal dispute with their agency ADOR, a division of HYBE Corporation.
Last year in November, NewJeans announced that they would be cutting ties with ADOR. The girl group even rebranded its name to NJZ. The decision to contract their termination came after NewJeans accused the record label of mistreatment. The members even expressed disappointment over the agency for forcing former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin to step down from her position.
Back in January, ADOR filed an injunction against NewJeans for trying to sign independent deals without its approval. Now, the Seoul Central District court has made its verdict against the band. The court has asked NewJeans to refrain from conducting any independent activities — be it musical or commercial, reported CNN.
As per the court documents, NewJeans’ attempt to exit ADOR and rename itself to NJZ could “seriously damage” the label’s reputation, as reported by BBC.
The court stated that NewJeans’ accusations failed to “sufficiently prove that ADOR violated their significant duty as part of their contract.” It added that ADOR has had followed “most of its duty including payment.”
Additionally, the court said, “If (NewJeans) unilaterally terminate the contract, ADOR would suffer greatly. And if (NewJeans) begins activity under a new name, it could severely damage not only the brand of NewJeans but the reputation of ADOR.”
The court’s ruling has cast a sheath of uncertainty around the release of NewJeans’ upcoming song, scheduled to premiere on Sunday (March 23).
According to BBC, NewJeans has respected the court’s decision but revealed that they were not given a fair opportunity to fully present their case. They issued a statement that said, “We plan to challenge today’s decision during which we will raise additional legal issues and submit further supporting evidence. Regardless we can no longer remain with a management that has disrespected our identities and undermined our achievements.”
Besides mistreatment claims, NewJeans has accused ADOR of violating artists’ rights and workplace harassment.
