The first hearing in ADOR’s 43.1 billion won ($28.9 million) damages lawsuit against former NewJeans member Danielle and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin is set to begin on Thursday.

The central issue in the case is expected to be whether “tampering” — referring to precontract contact or attempts to persuade an artist to leave an agency before an exclusive contract expires — took place.


The Seoul Central District Court will hear the case.

ADOR recently appointed law firm Leehan as its new legal representative and submitted a request on Friday to postpone the hearing. However, the court reportedly rejected it and will proceed with the trial as scheduled.

The two sides previously clashed over whether the lawsuit was being intentionally delayed during a preparatory hearing in March.

Danielle’s side argued that ADOR was deliberately slowing proceedings by expanding the scope of defendants and requesting extensions, while ADOR claimed that “the issues involved were complex and simply required additional time for review” and that it had “no intention to delay the proceedings.”

Neither former ADOR CEO Min nor Danielle is expected to appear in court in person, according to the legal representatives.

ADOR terminated Danielle’s exclusive contract in December of last year. The company claimed that the singer and her family were responsible for triggering the current legal dispute, which began after the NewJeans members held an emergency press conference in November 2024 to announce the termination of their exclusive contracts with ADOR and their plans to pursue independent activities.

ADOR filed a lawsuit in December 2024, seeking confirmation that the exclusive contracts remained valid. The court sided with ADOR and ruled that the contracts remained valid in the first trial in October of last year.

The agency then filed a 43.1 billion won damages lawsuit against Danielle, her family and Min that December, alleging violations of Danielle’s exclusive contract and seeking additional financial penalties.

Meanwhile, NewJeans members Haerin, Hyein and Hanni have reportedly decided to return to ADOR, with member Minji in talks to return as well.


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 PARK JONG-SUH [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]