NewJeans - Ador, First Mediation in Exclusive Contract Dispute Fails, Retry in September

The first court mediation to resolve the exclusive contract dispute between the girl group NewJeans and their agency Ador has concluded without success. Both sides are scheduled to sit at the negotiation table again next month.

The 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Jeong Hoe-il) held the first mediation session for the validity confirmation lawsuit filed by Ador against the five members of NewJeans from 2 PM to 3:20 PM on the 14th. No specific agreement was reached during the mediation, and both sides agreed to have a second mediation on September 11.

At the request of the court, NewJeans members Minji and Danielle appeared in court. The two members arrived at the court around 1:40 PM but only gave a brief response of "I'm sorry" to reporters' questions before heading into the courtroom. After the mediation ended, they avoided mentioning any specific negotiation details or conditions.

The core of this dispute lies in the differing interpretations regarding the validity of the exclusive contract. NewJeans claimed that the exclusive contract was terminated due to Ador's breach of contract last November and began independent activities. In contrast, Ador asserted that the contract is still valid and filed a lawsuit for confirmation of the exclusive contract's validity in court.

The court has issued a provisional decision restricting the independent activities of NewJeans members until the main lawsuit results are announced. As a result, the members are unable to engage in entertainment activities without prior approval from Ador.

The claims of both sides are sharply opposed. Ador stated, "The essence of the case is that the trainee changed their mind after succeeding as an artist," emphasizing that "HYBE invested 21 billion won to fully support NewJeans." They also rebutted the claim of a destroyed trust relationship by stating, "The foundation of the exclusive contract is the trust relationship between business partners," and that "Ador provided opportunities for entertainment activities and appropriately settled profits."

NewJeans countered, saying, "The current Ador, which has been replaced by HYBE executives after the ousting of former CEO Min Hee-jin, is not the company we trusted and relied on when signing the exclusive contract." They added that they have completely lost trust in the company during the nearly one and a half years of litigation.

If no agreement is reached in the second mediation in September, the court is expected to reach a final conclusion through a ruling. The court announced that the judgment date has been set for October 30.