Court to rule on validity of NewJeans' contract with ADOR after second mediation fails
A Seoul court will issue a ruling in October on the validity of the exclusive contract of K-pop girl group NewJeans with agency ADOR after their second mediation failed on Sept. 11.
The 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court held the second mediation hearing about ADOR’s lawsuit against NewJeans’ members to confirm the validity of their exclusive contract.
NewJeans members did not appear in court.
Last November, NewJeans declared that they terminated their exclusive contract with ADOR, saying the agency violated the terms of the contracts.
ADOR, a subsidiary of Korean entertainment agency HYBE, filed a lawsuit last December “in which the company sought a declaration affirming the validity of its exclusive contracts with the NewJeans members.”
The second mediation was held behind closed doors for about 20 minutes but failed to reach an agreement between NewJeans and ADOR. The first mediation hearing was held on Aug. 14.
As a result of the failed mediation, the court will issue its decision on Oct. 30.
ADOR maintained that "NewJeans' exclusive contract with the company is still valid and there is no reason to terminate the contract. HYBE invested 21 billion won [about $15.1 million] in NewJeans to provide full support."
In response, NewJeans’ side said, “The trust relationship has been broken due to the ouster of former CEO Min Hee-jin, which is the reason for the termination. With Min Hee-jin’s ouster, ADOR executives have been replaced with people from HYBE. ADOR, which we trusted and relied on when signing the exclusive contract, no longer exists,” Korean media reported.