NewJeans (NJZ) Injunction Decision Imminent: Will “Tampering Allegations” Decide the Outcome?
During the injunction application hearing held on March 7 at the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 50 (presided by Chief Judge Kim Sang-hoon), ADOR argued that Min Hee-jin’s tampering played a significant role in NJZ’s attempt to terminate their exclusive contract.
ADOR’s lawyer stated, “Min Hee-jin actively planned to take NewJeans with her and establish a new agency. Messages from KakaoTalk clearly show her saying that she could take the members and start a new company.”
The lawyer also pointed out, “The file attribute information of the contract termination notice sent by NewJeans to ADOR shows that the document was created by ‘Sejong’ and ‘S&K’. This indicates that NewJeans did not draft the document themselves but submitted materials prepared by Min Hee-jin’s side.” Sejong Law Firm was Min Hee-jin’s legal representative at the time, and “S&K” refers to Sejong’s official English name.
In response, NewJeans’ lawyer countered, “Min Hee-jin was the driving force behind NewJeans’ unprecedented success, yet ADOR ousted her without consulting the group. This is a severe violation of management obligations.” They further claimed, “The essence of this case is that HYBE and ADOR discriminated against NewJeans, sought to replace them with another group, and ultimately attempted to discard them.”
The court also raised questions about Min Hee-jin’s possible involvement in NewJeans’ independent activities. When asked if NewJeans had engaged another agency or management company for their upcoming performance on March 21, NewJeans’ lawyer replied, “We are not in a position to finalize any contracts yet.“
When pressed on how the performance was arranged, NewJeans’ side responded, “The event organizers are handling the necessary arrangements, but the members themselves are not fully aware of all the details. There is no agency overseeing the entire production of the performance.“
Legal experts suggest that the outcome of the injunction hinges on ADOR’s ability to prove tampering between Min Hee-jin and NewJeans before the termination notice was issued.
Lawyer Noh Jong-eon of the Jonjae Law Firm stated, “If there is concrete evidence of tampering before NJZ’s contract termination, the injunction ruling could go against them.”
However, lawyer Noh added, “For tampering to be recognized, there must be clear proof that NewJeans and Min Hee-jin conspired actively, leading to legally or financially impactful actions. ADOR must provide material evidence to substantiate their claims.”
Lawyer Kim Tae-yeon from Taeyeon Law Office commented, “Based on the evidence ADOR has presented so far, it does not conclusively prove NewJeans’ tampering. Since an injunction is decided based on urgency, the court will weigh which party would suffer greater harm and how third-party entities may be affected.“
The court concluded the hearing on March 14 after reviewing additional evidence from both sides over the past week. Given NewJeans’ scheduled performance, a ruling is expected soon.
If the injunction is denied, NewJeans will continue their activities. However, if granted, their independent activities could be halted until the final ruling in the main lawsuit, which begins with its first hearing on April 3.
In November last year, all five NewJeans members declared independence from ADOR, claiming the company had breached their contract. They rebranded as NJZ and resumed activities in February.
Regarding this, ADOR filed an injunction request in January to prevent NewJeans from signing independent advertisement deals. The company later expanded its request, seeking to prohibit NewJeans from engaging in any entertainment activities, including writing lyrics, composing and singing.