Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR, has publicly addressed the court’s recent ruling in NewJeans’ exclusive contract lawsuit, admitting she is aware that the court dismissed the members’ claims.
On November 11, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 62 (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-seok) held the third hearing in the ₩1.1 billion damage lawsuit filed by ADOR against production group Dolphiners Films and director Shin Woo-seok.
Min Hee-jin appeared as a witness on behalf of director Shin, defending the upload of the director’s cut version of NewJeans’ “ETA” music video on the Ban Heesoo channel. She argued that the release had been verbally agreed upon and was a common practice in the entertainment industry, posing no financial damage to ADOR.
In response, ADOR brought up the court’s prior ruling on the exclusive contract lawsuit involving NewJeans. The group had previously declared that their contract with ADOR was terminated in November last year, citing Min’s dismissal and the dispute with Dolphiners Films as breaches of contract. However, the court upheld the validity of the exclusive contract between NewJeans and ADOR.
The ruling stated, “Min Hee-jin’s dismissal alone does not constitute a breach of contract, and the dispute with Dolphiners Films does not prove that they possess such irreplaceable production skills as to consider ADOR in violation of its contractual obligations.”
During the hearing, ADOR’s legal team directly questioned Min: “Are you aware that NewJeans’ claims were dismissed in the injunction hearings and the main trial, with a final judgment rendered?” Min replied, “Yes.”
ADOR pressed further, referencing the court’s remark that NewJeans’ allegations appeared to be the result of Min Hee-jin’s thorough pre-litigation review of documents shared between HYBE, ADOR, and the group. The court believed this preparation was aimed at shaping public opinion against HYBE and forming the basis for legal action. Min responded, “This trial is about whether director Shin should be held liable for damages that’s the key issue here.”
NewJeans has appealed the court’s decision in the exclusive contract case. Meanwhile, Min Hee-jin has recently launched her own new agency, “ooak.”
The high-profile dispute continues to attract widespread attention in the K-pop industry, particularly as it involves one of the genre’s most successful fourth-generation groups and the once-celebrated executive who helped create their debut success.
Sources: naver
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