A Seoul court has confirmed that NewJeans cannot leave their current agency ADOR, citing former CEO Min Hee-jin’s KakaoTalk conversations with close associates as key evidence proving a premeditated plan to separate the group from HYBE. The ruling concluded that Min had strategically prepared a public opinion campaign and independence attempt long before the conflict escalated.
On October 30, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 41 sided with ADOR in the first trial regarding the validity of NewJeans’ exclusive contract, stating that the agreement “must remain in effect.” The court found that Min had “led public opinion warfare, legal strategies, and evidence-gathering to separate NewJeans from HYBE and move them under an independent structure.”
According to the ruling, Min began discussing independence plans in February 2024 through a KakaoTalk group chat. When a close associate wrote, “Our goal is to make HYBE struggle and gain our freedom,” Min replied, “That would be great.”
In March 2024, Min stated, “Plan change. First attack on April 3, then prepare for public sentiment warfare.” On that same day, HYBE received a complaint email accusing another group of copying NewJeans. Min further said, “We’ll sue over the core issue and push everything else through the public battle.”
The court noted multiple instances where Min urged staff to find materials that would shift responsibility toward HYBE. She reportedly said, “Whether it’s a Fair Trade issue or corporate law violation, let’s gather more evidence the more, the better,” and specifically mentioned other HYBE girl groups, saying, “Whether it’s ○○○○, XXXX, ○○○, or XXX, there must be something more,” effectively directing her team to find additional examples to use against HYBE.
The court ruled that these conversations showed an effort “not to protect NewJeans, but to justify ADOR’s independence by manufacturing HYBE’s responsibility.”
Min also suggested using NewJeans members’ parents as a “strategic card.” She reportedly told staff, “How about having the mothers send the emails this time?” and even suggested altering the writing tone to resemble that of “older male officials.” In May 2024, the members’ parents sent HYBE an email criticizing the company for “failing to protect NewJeans’ value,” and have publicly supported Min since.
Industry officials note that the ruling establishes a firm legal stance against “tampering,” the act of inducing key artists to leave their agencies. The court stated that artists who succeed due to a company’s full investment “cannot simply leave because of management disputes.”
After the verdict, ADOR expressed hope that the ruling would “give the artists a chance to reflect” and reiterated that the company awaits their return. However, the NewJeans members’ legal representatives at Sejong Law Firm declared that “trust has already collapsed,” confirming plans to appeal.
Meanwhile, Min Hee-jin faces a new courtroom confrontation as she appears for her first trial following NewJeans’ loss in the exclusive-contract lawsuit. The Seoul Western District Court opened proceedings for the civil suit filed by Source Music, marking the first Min-related trial since ADOR’s victory.
Source Music is seeking approximately 500 million KRW in damages, accusing Min of defamation and business obstruction after she publicly named LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT during a press conference in July 2024, claiming they had “referenced NewJeans.” Min argues her statements were “fact-based criticism.”
In the fourth hearing, both sides are expected to clash over the KakaoTalk messages that were admitted into evidence. Min previously argued that her messages were collected unlawfully and should be excluded, but the court rejected her objection. These conversations obtained during HYBE’s audit of ADOR in April last year have become crucial evidence not only in the NewJeans case but also in Min’s ongoing disputes with HYBE and its labels.
Since the same conversations and context are central to the Source Music lawsuit, the court is expected to re-examine the records. Source Music plans to use them to argue that Min acted with intentional harm and made false accusations. Min is also engaged in a separate lawsuit with BELIFT LAB over her claim that ILLIT’s concept copied NewJeans.
The most financially significant case for Min is her civil suit against HYBE over stock repurchase rights. She is demanding approximately 26 billion KRW, arguing that the shareholder agreement remains valid and allows her to exercise her put option to sell her ADOR shares back to HYBE. HYBE counters that the contract was terminated in July 2024 due to Min’s attempts to separate NewJeans and her alleged breach of trust, rendering the put-option clause invalid.
The core legal question is whether HYBE’s termination notice was justified and whether the put-option clause can survive the contract’s cancellation. With the court having acknowledged elements of Min’s strategic planning in the exclusive-contract lawsuit, industry watchers expect this to influence the outcome of the upcoming stock-related rulings as well.
Sources: nate, daum
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