The legal war between HYBE’s sub-label ADOR and its star girl group NewJeans shows no signs of slowing down, as both sides continue to stick to their claims.
On July 24, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 41 held the third hearing in the ongoing lawsuit between ADOR and the NewJeans members. The lawsuit was filed by ADOR, asking the court to confirm that the members’ exclusive contracts are still valid. The NewJeans members did not appear in court.
During the hearing, NewJeans’ legal team presented a detailed slideshow and explained their side. They said HYBE’s audit of CEO Min Hee Jin in April 2024 was based on false claims that she tried to take over management and “steal” NewJeans from the company. “The breach of duty accusations didn’t hold up, and police found no criminal activity”, they said. “HYBE just wanted to kick her out.”
They added that ADOR today is no longer the ADOR created by Min Hee Jin. “HYBE employees have taken over,” they claimed. “Even the recent financial settlements were completed while Min Hee Jin was still in charge. We no longer trust the current ADOR and can’t work under them.”
ADOR strongly disagreed. They said, “The trainees changed after becoming successful celebrities. We fully supported them, investing over 21 billion KRW, including 7 billion for their debut.” They argued the group should respect the contract.
ADOR also brought forward KakaoTalk messages, which they say show a plot to break the contract using protest emails written under the names of NewJeans’ mothers.
“They were told to send these emails to ADOR and to mention the grace period in the contract. One message even said, ‘There’s no evidence,’ showing clear intent. This proves Min Hee Jin was behind everything,” ADOR claimed.
They insisted that NewJeans siding with Min Hee Jin and refusing to work with ADOR is a violation of the contract. “They can’t just say they lost trust and walk away. They’re trying to leave the agency with all the risks while taking the fame and success with them,” the label said.
NewJeans’ lawyers fired back, saying, “The real problem is ADOR’s failure to do its job as a management company.” They argued that Min Hee Jin’s KakaoTalk messages were taken out of context and blown out of proportion by HYBE. “There was no takeover plot—just a made-up story,” they said.
ADOR responded again, saying, “NewJeans keeps changing their reasons for wanting out. It feels like they’re trying to end the contract first and make up the reasons later”.
NewJeans previously claimed that their exclusive contracts with ADOR were effectively terminated back in November 2023 and began making moves independently.
In January, ADOR filed a lawsuit to confirm that the contracts are still valid, along with an injunction to stop the members from working without the company’s approval.
So far, the court has sided with ADOR’s request—meaning NewJeans cannot promote or sign new endorsement deals until a final legal ruling is made.
The battle is far from over, and fans continue to watch closely as the conflict between one of K-pop’s biggest girl groups and their agency heads toward a major showdown in court.
Source: [1]
