Just as I predicted, NewJeans lost their court case against ADOR. On October 30, 2025, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that their exclusive contract, signed in 2022, remains valid until July 31, 2029. NewJeans will also have to pay for litigation costs.
Anyone who’s been following this case and was being honest with themselves knew how this would turn out.
In the lead-up to Thursday’s verdict, NewJeans made multiple allegations accusing ADOR and its parent company HYBE of mistreatment, workplace abuse, defamation, among other claims. They lost every single one.
The judge dismantled each argument, finding no legal basis for their accusations. This wasn’t a surprise verdict that came out of nowhere. NewJeans had been losing court cases leading up to this final ruling for months. This is because they failed to convince judges that HYBE’s leadership led to ADOR mistreating them.
Every Claim Was Rejected by the Court
The core of NewJeans’ case rested on the removal of Min Hee-jin as ADOR’s CEO. They argued this was a form of sabotage that violated the terms of their contract. The court didn’t buy it.
The judge made it clear that “the contract does not stipulate that Min Hee-jin must remain CEO to manage NewJeans.” More damning is that the court found that “it cannot be seen that Min Hee-jin was the reason or motive for the defendants (NewJeans) to sign the exclusive contract.” In other words, NewJeans didn’t sign their contract because of Min Hee-jin.
Not only that, but ADOR actually tried to keep Min Hee-jin involved. After her dismissal as CEO, the company proposed she continue as an in-house director and producer. The producer delegation period would have lasted until October 31, 2029, but she declined.
The court’s dismissal of NewJeans’ other claims was just as thorough.
ADOR failed to uphold their management duties? The court noted that ADOR continued producing albums, preparing performances, planning tours, and handling promotions after Min’s dismissal.
The legitimacy of Min Hee-jin’s dismissal? The court ruled that HYBE’s audit of Min was not retaliatory. Citing KakaoTalk messages between her and former ADOR vice president Lee Sang-woo, the court found that Min had “planned a public campaign and legal action to separate NewJeans and ADOR from HYBE.”
According to the chat history, “former CEO Min prepared for a public relations battle, reports to relevant authorities, and a lawsuit in advance, but did not step forward herself, and instead looked for investors.” The court stated it was “difficult to see such actions as being for the protection of NewJeans from ADOR’s non-fulfillment of obligations, as NewJeans claimed.” This justified HYBE’s decision to begin an internal audit.
Leaked trainee footage from Source Music? The court ruled that HYBE acted promptly by requesting takedowns and sending formal notices.
HYBE’s PR team allegedly downplaying NewJeans’ achievements? The court dismissed this, saying that correcting inaccurate media reports did not amount to defamation.
ILLIT plagiarizing NewJeans? The court rejected this claim outright. The judge did acknowledge that “some similarities can be confirmed in the planning proposals and photos of NewJeans and ILLIT.” However, they stated that it’s “difficult to see ILLIT as having copied NewJeans.” Having five young girls debut in a group together, “is not something that can be included in IP rights.”
The “ignore her” incident involving Hanni and ILLIT’s manager? This claim fell apart after the court found that the remark came from Min Hee-jin, not ILLIT’s management.
The court stated that it couldn’t determine that Hanni heard the “ignore her” comment from ILLIT’s manager or that the exchange was a violation of her personal rights. HYBE had requested CCTV footage during their investigation of the incident, but the cameras didn’t record audio. “Even if the incident was captured on camera, the alleged remarks would not have been recorded.”
HYBE asking Dolphiners Films to delete the director’s cut of the ETA video? The court ruled that HYBE was in the right because the contract needed approval before it could be posted.
HYBE interfering with album distribution? The court called this claim a part of Min Hee-jin’s “strategic conflict” against the company.
The “abandon NewJeans” comment from leaked HYBE internal reports? The judge clarified that “the phrase ‘Throw away New” was taken out of context. Actually it was a reference to a promotion strategy for LE SSERAFIM. Given that HYBE invested over 21 billion KRW in NewJeans and achieved massive success with the group, the court found “it’s difficult to interpret this as HYBE abandoning NewJeans.”
Where Do We Go From Here?
Almost immediately after the ruling, NewJeans’ lawyer announced plans to appeal. “The members respect the court’s decision. However, they maintain their position that it is impossible to return to ADOR and continue normal entertainment activities, as the relationship of trust between the parties has already been completely broken.”
Whoever NewJeans’ legal team is, they’re either incompetent or they’re dragging this out for all the money they’re making from these girls.
How can you file an appeal when that strategy has failed you for about a year? What new evidence do they have? What will suddenly convince an appellate court when the district court rejected every claim? It doesn’t seem like there are any adults who can give these girls good advice or proper guidance.
NewJeans will appeal to the first appellate court, then take it up to the Korean Supreme Court if they can. They’re going to lose on both fronts. It’s going to be a repeat of what we’ve been seeing. An endless cycle of losses until NewJeans exhaust all their legal options and are forced to work with ADOR again. And that’s not a good outcome for anybody.
I’m not happy with how this all went down. I was really hoping NewJeans and ADOR would mutually come to an agreement to work with each other. That’s not going to happen now.
The saddest part of this entire case is that all of this could have been avoided. NewJeans is a talented group. They’ve achieved a level of success and cultural impact that many artists dream of. Now, that’s all going down the drain, and none of the people involved even tried to stop this mess from escalating.
