The Seoul Central District Court upheld Ador’s request to remain as NewJeans’ exclusive management agency
Bunnies, we’re in for some sad news. It looks like we can’t breathe easy just yet. Although NewJeans departed from Ador last November and is set to appear as NJZ in this month’s ComplexCon in Hong Kong (also with news of releasing a new song under their new name), the Seoul Central District Court has made a ruling that may affect the girls’ activities.
Today, March 21, the court issued an injunction to stop members of the group from pursuing independent projects. “The Seoul Central District Court upheld a request from label Ador to maintain its role managing the group and prohibit NewJeans’ members from engaging in commercial activities without the label’s consent,” Reuters cites from a court statement.
Read: NewJeans is leaving Ador. This is what it might mean for them
The group took to Instagram following the ruling, stating in a post: “NJZ respects the court’s ruling. However, we believe that the decision did not fully take into account the complete breakdown of trust the members have experienced toward Ador.”
Through the NJZ PR account, the group stated that they “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully present the factual background to the court.” In contrast, Ador and Hybe had full access to information on the members’ activities, while the group had to “individually contact relevant parties to request information.” The group cited this as an “imbalance of information.”
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Meanwhile, the Hybe subsidiary thanked the Seoul court for its decision. “With our status as NewJeans’ exclusive agency now legally affirmed, we are fully committed to supporting the artists moving forward,” Ador says in a statement.
NJZ expressed their plan to challenge the court decision. On their PR account, they also emphasized that the injunction, which Ador had won today, “is a provisional measure.”
“A separate main lawsuit regarding the validity of the exclusive contract termination is currently underway,” the group says. “Unlike injunction proceedings, the main lawsuit allows us to freely utilize civil procedure tools to collect necessary evidence. We anticipate this will greatly reinforce our claims.” The lawsuit court hearing is scheduled for April 3.
NJZ/NewJeans also emphasized that their scheduled appearance at ComplexCon on March 23 will push through. Ador stated that the agency would be present at the event.
