NewJeans vs. ADOR: Full Timeline of Events Explained
During their March 23 performance at ComplexCon in Hong Kong, where they debuted a new song called “Pit Stop” as NJZ, Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein announced they’d be taking a break as a group and going on a temporary hiatus to respect the Seoul Central District Court’s decision.
“This stage means so much to us and every single one of you who gives us strength just by being here. It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment,” Danielle and Hanni told the crowd in English, per Billboard.
“We’ve known from the start that this journey wasn’t going to be easy and even though we accept the court’s ruling and this whole process, we had to speak up to protect the values that we believe in, and that was a choice that we don’t regret at all,” the duo continued. “We understand and know that today’s news might be disappointing or upsetting but it was not an easy decision for us to make either. But at the moment for us, it’s about protecting ourselves so that we can come back even stronger.”
As noted by Soompi, ADOR reacted to the group’s performance and hiatus announcement in a statement, saying: “We consider it deeply regretful that in spite of the court’s decision, NewJeans pushed ahead with performing under a different name instead of NewJeans and unilaterally announced that they would be halting their activities.”
On March 21, the Seoul Central District Court granted ADOR’s request for a preliminary injunction recognizing the company as the “exclusive management agency” of the group and its members, according to a statement from the record label. This means the members will not be able to sign “any advertising contracts independently—or through any third party—without ADOR’s approval,” the company said. According to the BBC, the ruling applies to all independent activities, including the making and release of new music.
“We express our sincere gratitude for the court’s judicious decision to grant the preliminary injunction. With our status as NewJeans’ exclusive agency now legally affirmed, we are fully committed to supporting the artists going forward,” ADOR said in its statement, adding that the company would be present at the group’s previously independently scheduled appearance at ComplexCon in Hong Kong “to guarantee the performance is presented under the NewJeans name.”
In a statement released via the NJZ PR account on Instagram, the group announced that it would be challenging the court’s decision.
“We plan to challenge today’s decision through the objection procedure, during which we will raise additional legal issues and submit further supporting evidence,” the group wrote. “It is important to note that an injunction is a provisional measure. A separate main lawsuit regarding the validity of the exclusive contract termination is currently underway, with a court hearing scheduled for April 3. Unlike injunction proceedings, the main lawsuit allows us to freely utilize civil procedure tools to collect necessary evidence. We anticipate this will greatly reinforce our claims.”
