On the morning of April 3, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 41 held the first hearing for the lawsuit filed by ADOR against the members of NewJeans, seeking confirmation of the validity of their exclusive contract. Unlike the prior injunction hearing, the NewJeans members were not present in court.

From the start, both sides showed contrasting views regarding the possibility of settlement. In response to the court’s inquiry, ADOR’s legal representative stated “We hope for a settlement”, while NewJeans’ attorney responded, “Considering the members’ emotional state, a settlement is not possible at this time.”

The issue of Min Hee-jin’s reinstatement, which NewJeans has consistently requested, also drew sharp disagreement. ADOR argued, “It’s true that former CEO Min Hee-jin contributed to the success of today’s NewJeans, but the claim that ‘NewJeans cannot exist without Min Hee-jin’ is simply untrue.”

ADOR further pointed to NewJeans’ recent performance at “ComplexCon” in Hong Kong — which was prepared independently without Min Hee-jin’s involvement — as evidence against such claims, saying, “The argument that only Min Hee-jin could have made it happen contradicts the defendants’ own actions.”

On the other hand, NewJeans’ side referred to Min’s dismissal as a “retaliatory act”, even using the term “expelled”, and asserted, “With the newly appointed management, today’s ADOR is only formally the same entity as the one that signed the original contract — it now holds completely different values.” They emphasized, “The breakdown of trust justifies and validates the termination of the exclusive contract.”

ADOR refuted, “Min Hee-jin was not expelled, she left voluntarily.” They added, “She declined to continue producing unless she was reinstated as CEO, and after that, the defendants (NewJeans) declared contract termination.”

The court indicated that it would focus on interpreting what constitutes a “breakdown of trust”.

The presiding judge commented, “I’ve handled cases where idols sought to terminate contracts after never receiving a settlement, but this is a rare case where the claim hinges on not wanting to continue without Min Hee-jin. A breakdown of trust is an abstract concept. We will consider how to define trust and whether management and producing should be considered part of that trust in long-term contracts.”

In November last year, NewJeans held an emergency press conference claiming ADOR failed to fulfill its obligations and declared contract termination, later announcing a new team name and pursuing independent activities. In response, ADOR filed a lawsuit for contract validity and requested an injunction to preserve its status as the agency and to ban the members from entering new advertisement contracts. On March 21, the court granted the injunction, but NewJeans contested the ruling and suspended their activities.

The second hearing for the exclusive contract lawsuit between ADOR and NewJeans is scheduled for June 5. The injunction appeal hearing is set for April 9.