ADOR, Dan iel’s Mother and Min Hee-jin’s Real Estate Asset Freeze Upheld in Court… Court Affirms Request Worth 7 Billion Won

It has been confirmed that ADOR, the agency of the K-pop group NewJeans, had its application to freeze real estate assets upheld by the court in a case filed against Daniel, a member who left the group, as well as against Min Hee-jin, the former ADOR CEO (currently the CEO of OK Records). With a large-scale damages lawsuit worth around 43 billion won looming, ADOR appears to have moved to begin full-fledged asset preservation procedures.

■ Court upholds an asset freeze order worth 7 billion won… blocks asset sales and concealment

According to legal circles on the 29th, Han Sook-hee, the presiding judge of the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 58-1 (single-judge), fully upheld ADOR’s application for a real estate asset freeze filed on February 2 against Daniel’s mother, Ms. A, and former CEO Min.

The total amount requested in this asset freeze is approximately 7 billion won. The court ordered real estate freezes within 2 billion won for Daniel’s mother, Ms. A, and within 5 billion won for former CEO Min, respectively. An asset freeze is a temporary measure that prevents a debtor from concealing or selling assets during litigation, and it functions as a preemptive preservation step for possible forced execution if the debtor ultimately wins the case.

■ “Responsibility for breaking exclusive contract and leaving” vs. “Unfair pressure”

ADOR confirmed the termination of its exclusive contract with Daniel in December of last year and, at the same time, filed a damages claim lawsuit worth around 43 billion won. ADOR argues that Ms. A, Daniel’s mother, and former CEO Min played key roles in Daniel’s alleged breach and departure from the exclusive contract, as well as in the delayed return process of the NewJeans members, and it maintains a firm stance that it will seek legal accountability for those actions.

Meanwhile, the side of former CEO Min did not present specific positions regarding the asset freeze measure, but has argued that actions by HYBE and ADOR have been unfair pressure framed as an attempted takeover of management control.

■ Legal team resigns ahead of the first hearing… could there be a variable?

As an intense legal battle is expected, another variable has emerged. On the 24th, ADOR’s legal team submitted a resignation notice to the court—three weeks before the first hearing date scheduled for the 15th of next month. With a large-scale lawsuit underway, there is no shortage of industry speculation about the reasons behind the replacement of the legal team.

Currently, the case is being heard by the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 31 (In Nam-soo, presiding judge), which had previously ruled in favor of former CEO Min in the first-instance option-related lawsuit between former CEO Min and HYBE.

People in the music industry analyzed, “The court’s acceptance of this real estate asset freeze request means the court determined that ADOR’s claim of entitlement to damages was, to a certain extent, substantiated,” adding, “In the main lawsuit that follows, it is expected that an unprecedented legal dispute will arise over Daniel’s departure process and whether former CEO Min was involved.”