One week after NewJeans moved to axe its Ador agreement, the K-pop firm is suing to enforce the deal, which it says remains active. Meanwhile, Ador’s ousted CEO is accusing Hybe execs and others of defamation.
Hybe’s Ador just recently submitted the complaint to the Seoul Central District Court. And for those who’ve been following the underlying NewJeans v. Ador showdown, the lawsuit probably won’t come as a surprise.
We’ve covered that convoluted showdown – stemming from an ugly dispute between now-former Ador head Min Hee-jin and Hybe – every step of the way throughout 2024. Long story short, Ador is accusing Min of attempting to spin off the business into a standalone operation and/or woo NewJeans away to a different company.
Min, for her part, maintains that Hybe undermined NewJeans’ commercial potential by debuting a similar girl group, Illit, via Belift Lab, on top of allegedly violating contract terms. Following (prior) lawsuits, press conferences, and publicly traded barbs, Min formally exited the company in late November.
The development didn’t sit right with NewJeans’ five members, who, having worked with Min from the outset, issued an ultimatum to Ador demanding (among other things) the ousted exec’s reinstatement.
At the time of this two-week ultimatum, evidence strongly suggested that the reinstatement ship had sailed. NewJeans, perhaps aware of the reality, unilaterally announced its Hybe/Ador departure one week ago, during a seemingly well-planned press conference.
Predictably, Ador didn’t hesitate to return fire, claiming in more words that NewJeans, allegedly unable to nix the contract in the absence of actual cause, would be bound by the appropriate terms into 2029.
Simultaneously, Ador, the website homepage of which encourages “anyone” born between 2005 and 2011 to request an audition, took one final stab at a semi-amicable resolution by calling for a sit down with the group.
Needless to say, based on the initially mentioned lawsuit and the preceding months-long confrontation, this resolution didn’t come to fruition.
To be sure, Min (and her legal team) on Monday denied conspiring to split NewJeans from Ador or masterminding the act’s contract-termination announcement, per the Korea Herald.
Additionally, Min reportedly filed (new) defamation-focused complaints, alleging violations of a communications law, against two reporters as well as former Hybe CEO Park Ji-won and PR head Park Tae-hee.
In brief, the latter execs allegedly illegally obtained private conversations involving Min, besides allegedly adding in false details before releasing the materials – thereby setting the stage for allegedly defamatory media coverage.
Shifting back to Ador’s suit, the company in a statement acknowledged it’d submitted the complaint “to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract” with NewJeans and “to ensure its continued legal enforcement.”
“Although we did not wish to seek legal intervention with the artist,” Ador proceeded, “we decided that it was necessary to clarify to both the artist and all relevant stakeholders that our exclusive contract cannot be unilaterally terminated based solely on the claims of one side.
“Above all, the decision was made to protect the trust-based relationships that have driven the growth of the K-pop industry and to preserve the very foundation of the country’s pop culture. We aim to have this clearly established in court,” the company continued.
In closing, Ador indicated that it, acting “with a heavy heart,” had maneuvered to stop NewJeans from violating their deal and “to prevent any unexpected damage or confusion among industry professionals as a result.”
Though the lawsuit could take some time to play out, in the near term, it’ll be interesting to see NewJeans’ next move; the group hasn’t shied away from expressing a desire to resume working with Min.
As far as K-pop drama goes, when it rains, it pours – and the current episode isn’t an exception. The Korea Management Association, which reps road managers and entertainment agency higher-ups, has rather directly thrown its support behind Ador as opposed to NewJeans.
Separate from the Ador-NewJeans battle but still significant, Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk is reportedly facing “intensifying scrutiny” from the Financial Supervisory Service. According to the Korea Times, this scrutiny stems from the exec’s alleged collusion with private equities ahead of Hybe’s 2020 IPO.
Cre: MSN
