On July 25, the third hearing in the civil lawsuit filed by ADOR against NewJeans to confirm the validity of their exclusive contract was held at the Seoul Central District Court (Civil Division 41, Chief Judge Jeong Hoe-il).
During the trial, NewJeans’ legal representative argued that telling the members to return to ADOR and HYBE was akin to telling a school bullying victim to go back and endure abuse at the same school, asserting that their demand to terminate the contract was justified. The group likened their situation to “bullying victims,” “citizens left unprotected from invaders,” and “a younger sibling being beaten by an older brother,” emphasizing their inability to return to ADOR under its current structure.
They also made a metaphorical comparison, saying, “A competent general who achieved great success in battle was beheaded for giving frank advice to the king, leaving the people unprotected from external threats.” In this analogy, the “competent general” refers to former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin , who was instrumental in NewJeans’ success, while “the people” represents the group members.
The group further compared Min Hee-jin to a mother who homeschooled them and HYBE to an abusive father, stating, “The mother has been kicked out, and now the father is saying he’ll find us a better mom and wants us to come back.”
NewJeans also revealed the emotional toll the 18-month-long dispute has taken on them, stating, “Even going near HYBE’s building causes heart palpitations, and after visits, we need treatment for depression.” They claimed being forced to fulfill the contract and perform under such conditions would violate their personal rights.
Their lawyer representative, “Can you really tell them, ‘It’s a contract, so you have to come out and sing and dance’? Do the members not have any personal rights?” expressing strong resistance to the idea of returning to ADOR .
Petition letters reportedly written by the members were also submitted to the court. In them, the group described the past year as “a nightmare,” stating they “frequently woke up from bad dreams and suffered from depression.”
The court set August 14 as a mediation date to attempt a settlement. If mediation fails, a final ruling will be delivered on October 30.
Nate
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