The court's injunction prohibiting independent entertainment activities by the members of K-pop girl group NewJeans has been finalized.
According to the legal community on June 25, the five members of NewJeans did not file a re-appeal against the Seoul High Court's decision on June 17 to uphold a prior injunction. The injunction granted ADOR, the group's agency, the right to maintain its management status and prohibited the members from signing advertising deals independently.
A re-appeal must be filed within seven days from the date the decision is notified. As the deadline passed without further legal action, the court’s injunction has now been confirmed.
The dispute began in November last year when the members held an emergency press conference to declare the termination of their exclusive contracts with ADOR, citing a breakdown in trust. They announced plans to pursue activities under the new name "NJZ." In response, ADOR filed a lawsuit to validate the exclusivity of the contracts and simultaneously requested a court injunction to ban the members from engaging in independent entertainment activities pending a full verdict.
In March, the Seoul Central District Court sided entirely with ADOR, ruling that the agency retained its contractual management authority over NewJeans. The court barred the members from signing advertising contracts, appearing on broadcasts, or engaging in music-related activities without ADOR’s prior approval.
Although the members challenged the decision through objection and appeal, both were dismissed — first by the district court and later by the appellate court.
In its decision, the high court acknowledged allegations that former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin had attempted to sever ties with HYBE, ADOR's parent company. However, the court found that this did not constitute a fundamental breakdown of the exclusive contract. It also rejected the members’ claim that the injunction infringed upon their rights to artistic freedom and professional activity, stating that such rights could still be exercised within the existing contract framework.
Separately, in May, the court approved a request for indirect compulsory enforcement filed by ADOR. The ruling imposes a penalty of 1 billion KRW (approximately $720,000) per member for each violation of the injunction.
Meanwhile, the main lawsuit over the validity of the exclusive contracts between ADOR and the NewJeans members is still ongoing at the district court level.
