Will the lawsuit over the exclusive contract start today?

[SPOTV News=Reporter Jang Jin-ri] Group New Jeans and its agency Adore are starting a full-scale legal battle over the validity of their exclusive contract.

Seoul Central District Court Civil Agreement Division 41 (Presiding Judge Jeong Hoe-il) will hold the first oral argument date for the lawsuit filed by Adore against the five members of New Jeans on the morning of the 3rd to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract.

In the injunction application, Adore has the upper hand. On the 21st, the 50th Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Kim Sang-hoon) accepted Adore's injunction application for the preservation of the agency's status and prohibition of signing advertising contracts against the five members of New Jeans, and ruled in Adore's favor.

However, New Jeans immediately objected and filed an objection, and the hearing date for the objection will be held on the 9th. Prior to this, the main lawsuit for confirmation of the validity of the exclusive contract, in which Adore asserts that the exclusive contract is still valid despite New Jeans' notice of termination of the exclusive contract, will be the first to be contested.

Newzine said, "The main lawsuit to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract is in progress," and "We will once again state at the trial date that the contract was legally terminated."

New Jeans announced a halt to their activities after the injunction application was accepted. On the stage of 'Complexcon Hong Kong 2025' held at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong on the 23rd of last month, they said, "We have decided to comply with the court's decision and halt all activities," and "It is not an easy decision, but it is a choice that we absolutely need to make right now."

As the court's decision made it impossible for the members to continue independent activities without consulting with Adore, they expressed their determination to never return to Adore even if it meant risking a hiatus.

In the injunction application, the court did not recognize any of the 11 reasons for termination of the exclusive contract given by New Jeans, including the dismissal of former CEO Min Hee-jin of Adore and the “ignoring” remarks by the manager of Belief Lab, a label under HYBE.

New Jeans expressed confidence that they will take a more active approach in the main lawsuit by utilizing the system. New Jeans stated, “Unlike the injunction procedure, in the main lawsuit, we can more freely utilize the system of the Civil Procedure Act to secure necessary evidence, so we expect that this will significantly strengthen the evidence supporting the members’ claims,” so attention is focused on their ongoing legal battle in the main lawsuit.