The legal battle between K-pop girl group NewJeans and their agency ADOR continues. After the court granted ADOR's injunction request, NewJeans filed an appeal—but the first hearing wrapped up in just 15 minutes.

🚫 Court Hearing Held Behind Closed Doors

On April 9, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 50 held a closed-door hearing to review NewJeans' appeal of the previously granted injunction. The hearing was requested by the group's legal counsel from Sejong Law Firm and approved by the court.

Representatives from both sides attended—8 lawyers from ADOR's legal team (Kim & Chang) and 4 from Sejong on behalf of NewJeans. The NewJeans members themselves did not appear in court.

Just 15 minutes after the session began, it ended.

ADOR's legal representative stated briefly, "Nothing significant has changed since the injunction ruling." Sejong's team also declined to elaborate, simply stating, "We have no comment."

📝 Injunction Appeal Decision Pending

The court is expected to issue a decision soon regarding the appeal. If the request is denied, NewJeans is entitled to file a second appeal to the high court.

In March, the court sided with ADOR, upholding its position as NewJeans' management agency and banning the group from signing outside commercial deals without ADOR's consent.

The court found no evidence of a serious breach of contract by ADOR and ruled that trust between both parties had not been irreparably broken.

📉 Aftermath of the Ruling

As a result, NewJeans can no longer promote independently. On March 23, the group announced a temporary suspension of activities during a Hong Kong concert. They also deleted all content from their alternative social media channels.

Meanwhile, the main contract dispute over exclusive management rights is still underway. The first trial hearing was held on April 3.

ADOR's legal team argued, "Even without Min Hee-jin, we have the capacity to produce NewJeans." They also hinted at a potential settlement.

NewJeans' side disagreed: "We cannot trust the new ADOR management, installed by HYBE." They dismissed the possibility of settlement, saying, "It's not even something we're considering."

🔜 Next Hearing Set for June 5

The second court hearing in the exclusive contract dispute between NewJeans and ADOR will be held on June 5.

Stay tuned for more updates as the high-stakes legal battle unfolds.