ADOR Wins 1 Billion Against Dolphin Kidnapping Group... "Responsibility for Unauthorized Posting of NewJeans MV"

The agency ADOR has won a lawsuit against the advertising production company Dolphin Kidnapping Group regarding a copyright dispute over the music video of the girl group NewJeans.

The 62nd Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Judge Lee Hyun-seok) ruled on the 13th that Dolphin Kidnapping Group must pay ADOR 1 billion won in the damages claim filed by ADOR against the advertising production company and director Shin Woo-seok.

The court accepted ADOR's claim for 1 billion won due to breach of contract out of the total damages claim of 1.1 billion won. However, the remaining 100 million won claimed against Director Shin was dismissed.

ADOR filed a lawsuit in September 2024, claiming that Director Shin posted the director's cut of NewJeans' "ETA" music video without permission on the Dolphin Kidnapping Group's own YouTube channel.

During the third hearing held in November last year, former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin testified as a witness, stating that "it is industry practice for music video directors to post videos on their personal SNS" and "it can be promoted effectively by posting on the personal channels of collaborating creators,"but the court did not accept this argument and recognized the damages to ADOR.