ADOR, Daniel, Family, and Min Hee-jin File 4.31 Billion Won Lawsuit...Historic Legal Battle

It has been confirmed that ADOR, the agency of the girl group NewJeans, has filed a lawsuit for damages amounting to 4.31 billion won against member Daniel, his family, and former CEO Min Hee-jin, whose contract was terminated. Notably, this lawsuit has been assigned to the court handling the stock dispute between former CEO Min Hee-jin and HYBE, drawing attention to future judgments.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Seoul Central District Court has assigned the damage claim lawsuit filed by ADOR to the Civil Settlement Division 31 (Presiding Judge Nam In-soo). The defendants named in this lawsuit are Daniel, one family member, and former CEO Min Hee-jin, with the claim amounting to approximately 4.309 billion won.

The Civil Settlement Division 31 is currently handling the lawsuit filed by HYBE against former CEO Min Hee-jin regarding the confirmation of the termination of the shareholder agreement, as well as the lawsuit filed by Min Hee-jin against HYBE for the claim of stock sale proceeds.

The background of this lawsuit involves a complex legal dispute. Former CEO Min Hee-jin notified HYBE of the exercise of the put option last November, but HYBE countered that the shareholder agreement was terminated due to Min Hee-jin's attempt to 'take NewJeans away' and that the put option rights had also expired.

On the previous day, ADOR made it clear that it would hold Daniel and former CEO Min Hee-jin legally responsible for the current dispute situation, which has caused the departure and delayed return of NewJeans members, along with the decision to terminate the exclusive contract with Daniel and file a damage claim lawsuit.

Earlier, the members of NewJeans demanded the return of former CEO Min Hee-jin, who was dismissed due to conflicts with HYBE, but when their request was not accepted, they claimed that the contract was terminated due to ADOR's breach of the exclusive contract last November.

In response, ADOR filed a lawsuit in December of the same year to confirm the validity of the contract with NewJeans, asserting that the contract was still valid, and also submitted a request for a preliminary injunction to restrict the members' independent activities before the conclusion of the main lawsuit. The court granted ADOR's request for a preliminary injunction and ruled in favor of ADOR in the first instance.