On May 30, the members of NewJeans found themselves in the spotlight due to a recent court ruling involving their agency ADOR. The Seoul Central District Court determined that each member must pay 1 billion KRW (around $730,000) for every instance they engaged in independent entertainment activities without approval.
The legal issues stem from an earlier injunction issued on March 21, which prevented the members from taking part in such independent activities. NewJeans clarified the context of this latest decision in an official statement.
“The indirect compulsory decision announced today was made in response to an application submitted by ADOR on April 4,” the group stated. They emphasized that this ruling does not affect their ongoing appeal against the original injunction.
NewJeans conveyed that the court’s decision is temporary while their appeal is still pending. They explained,
“If the NewJeans members win the injunction appeal, both the original and the related indirect enforcement rulings will lose their legal effect. In practice, indirect enforcement is typically issued in conjunction with an injunction ruling.”
The recent ruling came after the court agreed with ADOR‘s stance on indirect compulsory enforcement, interpreting that NewJeans breached the previous injunction by participating in overseas performances and releasing music under a different group name, NJZ. The court even noted the likelihood of additional violations in the future.
This legal battle between NewJeans and ADOR is far from over. They are also in a dispute regarding the validity of their exclusive contract. During last month’s first hearing, NewJeans‘ legal representatives showed no interest in negotiating a settlement, while ADOR‘s team appeared more open to resolving the issue outside of court. The next hearing is set for June 5, which will continue to shed light on this complicated situation.
