ADOR has won a court order to provisionally seize real estate assets worth 7 billion won ($4.7 million) owned by the mother of former girl group NewJeans member Danielle and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, now head of ooak records.

Of the total of 7 billion won, real estate owned by Danielle’s mother was reportedly frozen for up to 2 billion won, while Min’s property was frozen at up to 5 billion won.


A provisional seizure is a court measure that temporarily freezes a debtor’s assets so they cannot be hidden or disposed of, ahead of court rulings.

The seizure almost came six months after ADOR terminated its exclusive contract with Danielle, citing breach of contract, and filed a lawsuit which included a member of Danielle's family. The suit, worth 43.1 billion won, claims that NewJeans' departure and the delay in the group's return were caused by Danielle's side and by Min.

ADOR, a HYBE label and the firm responsible for the management and production of NewJeans, filed the request against the two parties on Jan. 23, seeking a total of 7 billion won. ADOR’s lawyers submitted notices of resignation to the court last Friday, about three weeks before the first hearing in the case, which is scheduled for May 15.

Members Hanni, Hyein and Haerin have returned to ADOR while the agency is still “in talks” with Minji regarding her return.

The case is being heard by the Seoul Central District Court, which sided with Min in the first trial over her put-option dispute with HYBE.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]