NJZ (formerly NewJeans) is in the hot seat again over their ongoing exclusive contract lawsuit with HYBE and ADOR.
On July 24, 2025, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 41 held the third hearing in ADOR’s lawsuit aiming to confirm the validity of the exclusive contracts with the five NJZ members.
ADOR accused former CEO Min Hee Jin of masterminding the group’s contract termination notice. They claim controversies like the plagiarism accusations against ILLIT and the notorious “ignoring” incident were engineered by Min to justify her actions.
The agency insists they fulfilled all essential management duties and deny any trust breakdown. ADOR says they are still preparing a comeback album, hoping NJZ will return.
ADOR rejects the group’s argument that Min’s removal as producer voids their contracts, saying that alone isn’t enough to cancel an exclusive agreement.
NJZ’s legal team struck back, tracing the whole mess to HYBE’s April 2023 audit intended to oust Min Hee Jin. Min was cleared of embezzlement but the audit left NJZ in emotional and professional chaos.
In a striking move, NJZ’s team compared the situation to a broken family:
“The mom who raised us was kicked out, and now the abusive dad is saying, ‘I’ll find you a better mom, so come back home.’”
NJZ’s side said this shows the betrayal and loss of trust they feel toward ADOR and HYBE. They argue Min was just doing her CEO and producer job at the time.
They stress the group has suffered the most in this whole ordeal despite ADOR’s claims that Min manipulated the situation.
Both sides have now finished arguments. The case will move into private mediation on August 14.
