In the ongoing exclusive contract dispute between NewJeans and their agency ADOR, the Seoul Central District Court has dismissed member Hanni’s claim that she suffered a personal rights violation from an alleged “ignore her” comment made by a manager from another HYBE label.
On October 30, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 41, presided over by Judge Jung Hoe-il, ruled in favor of ADOR in the lawsuit confirming the validity of its exclusive contracts with NewJeans. During the verdict, the court rejected several of the group’s arguments, including Hanni’s claims of workplace mistreatment.
The court stated, “Based on the evidence submitted, it is insufficient to conclude that Hanni heard remarks such as ‘ignore her’ from an ILLIT manager that would amount to a violation of her personal rights.” The court further explained that HYBE had immediately taken steps to verify the incident by requesting CCTV footage through its security and operations teams, which continued searching for related clips at ADOR’s request. However, since the CCTV did not record audio, the court noted that “even if the incident was captured on camera, the alleged remarks would not have been recorded.”
The court concluded that ADOR took sufficient measures to verify the facts as described by Hanni.
Earlier, in October 2024, Hanni appeared before the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee as a witness to discuss “workplace bullying in the idol industry.” She testified, “I was waiting in the hallway after finishing my hair and makeup when members of another label walked past. A manager looked at me and told them, ‘Pretend you didn’t see her. Ignore her.’ I couldn’t understand why this kept happening.”
Later, Hanni posted on SNS, “I remember everything clearly. I wanted to speak about it in court but chose to hold back.”
ADOR countered, claiming that the incident was exaggerated by former CEO Min Hee-jin. The agency stated, “Hanni herself admitted that the ILLIT members greeted her. She said, ‘I don’t recall clearly, but maybe the manager just said to walk past without stopping.’ It was Min Hee-jin who turned that into ‘ignore her’ and escalated it. Even Hanni didn’t see it as a serious issue.”
During court proceedings, ADOR emphasized its heavy investment of ₩21 billion in NewJeans’ debut ₩7 billion for the debut album and ₩2 billion for music videos arguing that the group’s unilateral contract termination was “a clear breach of agreement that undermines the foundation of the K-pop industry.” The label accused Min Hee-jin of “tampering” and attempting to take NewJeans away for years, though it still expressed a desire for reconciliation.
Conversely, NewJeans argued that HYBE’s audit of Min Hee-jin was unjust and aimed at ousting her, claiming ADOR could no longer be trusted under HYBE’s control. The group also accused the agency of failing to protect its artists, suggesting they could only consider returning if Min Hee-jin were reinstated.
With reconciliation now off the table, ADOR has appointed former HYBE executive Lee Do-kyung as a new director, while Min Hee-jin has established her independent label ooak.
Although NewJeans appeared in court earlier this year for a related injunction hearing, the group did not attend the first or second hearings of the exclusive contract validity case.
Sources: Daum
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